Best books and resources for Medical School Pharmacology and the Pharmacology NBME 2024
We know that getting a consensus on the best books and resources for any given class can be difficult. Asking friends, searching SDN, and consulting seniors can provide a confusing mixed bag of advice.
Turns out, we've done the work for you. Compiled below are comprehensive recommendations on the best books and resources. Click here to find out how we ranked each resource as well as a description of the tiers used. Happy studying!
Highest Yield — The best pharmacology book for medical school
Lippincott's Pharmacology — Harvey et al.
Lippincott's provides a good fundamental groundwork for pharmacology, with a very helpful few opening chapters on pharmacokinetics and pharamcodynamics. Condensed and concise in an outline-based format with illustrations that display mechanisms of action well; very much a straight forward, no-nonsense review text which provides the necessary information for you to do well on your NBME and sets you up to have a good foundation for Step 1. Has close to 400 questions within the text as well which are high yield for in-house and NBME exams
Lange Pharmacology Flash Cards — Baron & Lee
While there are a number of pharmacology flash cards available, the Lange flashcards are the most directed and high yield for the NBME and Step exam. The front side of each card has a patient vignette and the back side of each card has the mechanism of action, clinical uses, side effects, and other details. There usually is some room on bottom of each backside where you can write in your own notes. Other flashcards available include Lippincott's Pharmcards, which have no vignette and essentially put an entire pharmacology text onto flashcards, and Master the Board's Pharmacology Flashcards, which may be too detailed to be much use on a flashcard.
Next Steps
Katzung and Trevor's Pharmacology Examination and Board Review — Trevor, Katzung & Knuidering-Hall
Your standard pharmacology textbook with more detail and wordier than Lippincott's; written in a paragraph based format with helpful diagrams and illustration. If you prefer a standard textbook based approach, find yourself having a hard time understanding pharmacologic concepts from the cursory review seen in Lippincott's, or don't go to class and want to teach yourself, Katzung's is the way to go.
BRS Pharmacology — Rosenfeld & Loose
Dense, outline based text with a paucity of illustrations and diagrams but with a great deal of detail, often more than you truly need to know for the purposes of the NBME shelf and Step 1. However, a great resources which logically organizes attributes of drugs and drug classes (mechanism of action, indications, and side effects) and comes with a number of questions after each chapter and at the end of thebook.
Deja Review Pharmacology — Gleason
Takes an unconventional approach and splits each page into two columns, with questions on one side and answers on the other. A great way to quiz yourself on learned material and review high yield, rote facts. Questions are uncomplicated and direct (such as asking about specific side effects or unique details of drugs). Works very well as a supplemental text in addition to a main review book or textbook.
If you have time
Goodman and Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics — Brunton, Chabner & Knollman
The "Harrison's" of pharmacology; a true reference text but likely unnecessary for the vast majority of students.