Anesthesiology: A Comprehensive Study Guide

From The Critics

Reviewer: Nancy Chang, MD(University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine)
Description: This book is a review of anesthesiology organized in outline form.
Purpose: It is intended as a readily accessible source of short lecture notes that comprehensively cover the field of anesthesiology. This is certainly a worthy objective. The authors manage to cover a wide range of important topics in anesthesiology in a concise manner. The chapters are organized by topic in a reasonably logical fashion, but the index is required to find very specific subjects.
Audience: The book is written for the general student of anesthesiology. However, the nonnarrative outline form tends toward a listing of important facts. This may be useful for the resident who is preparing for a general examination in anesthesiology. However, as an aid to comprehension and learning of topics that may not be readily familiar to the reader, the format is unfriendly. It is difficult to discern global concepts and important details. It is therefore not a good choice for medical students. It may be useful for practitioners seeking to review, but not relearn, important topics in anesthesia. The authors are credible authorities in anesthesia.
Features: Tables and illustrations are somewhat sparse. The ones that are present are of reasonable quality. References are present only as captions to figures taken from another source. The table of contents and index are adequate. The appearance is simple, somewhat monotonous, but the type is large and easy to read. The outline format is unique and may be useful for those who enjoy that style.
Assessment: This book may be a good review for those already familiar with the topics covered. However, the outline format is not conducive to learning new concepts. Also, it is not always easy to weigh the relevance of the many facts presented. Coverage of the field of anesthesiology is fairly comprehensive; however, one notable omission is a discussion of regional anesthesia. The book would be most appropriate for individuals preparing for a comprehensive exam in anesthesiology.

Nancy Chang

This book is a review of anesthesiology organized in outline form. It is intended as a readily accessible source of short lecture notes that comprehensively cover the field of anesthesiology. This is certainly a worthy objective. The authors manage to cover a wide range of important topics in anesthesiology in a concise manner. The chapters are organized by topic in a reasonably logical fashion, but the index is required to find very specific subjects. The book is written for the general student of anesthesiology. However, the nonnarrative outline form tends toward a listing of important facts. This may be useful for the resident who is preparing for a general examination in anesthesiology. However, as an aid to comprehension and learning of topics that may not be readily familiar to the reader, the format is unfriendly. It is difficult to discern global concepts and important details. It is therefore not a good choice for medical students. It may be useful for practitioners seeking to review, but not relearn, important topics in anesthesia. The authors are credible authorities in anesthesia. Tables and illustrations are somewhat sparse. The ones that are present are of reasonable quality. References are present only as captions to figures taken from another source. The table of contents and index are adequate. The appearance is simple, somewhat monotonous, but the type is large and easy to read. The outline format is unique and may be useful for those who enjoy that style. This book may be a good review for those already familiar with the topics covered. However, the outline format is not conducive to learning new concepts. Also, it is not always easy to weigh therelevance of the many facts presented. Coverage of the field of anesthesiology is fairly comprehensive; however, one notable omission is a discussion of regional anesthesia. The book would be most appropriate for individuals preparing for a comprehensive exam in anesthesiology.

2 Stars from Doody