Medicine Recall

From The Critics

Reviewer: Peter Sigmann, MD(Medical College of Wisconsin)
Description: In this book well over 6,000 questions as they would typically occur on teaching rounds were contributed by medical students, fellows, and faculty representing all subspecialties of an academic department of medicine as well as neurology, dermatology, and clinical pharmacology. These questions are arranged side-by-side with concise answers. Questions and answers are grouped by organ systems and disease categories with minimal overlap. Within a topic they progress from terminology to classification, epidemiology, etiology, clinical features (including physical examination), diagnostic evaluation, therapy, and occasional "clinical pearls."
Purpose: Its purpose is to be a study guide and source of information.
Audience: Medical students and junior house staff are the intended audience.
Features: This book feels alive and reflects the daily dialog of inpatient teaching. All areas of medicine are well covered. The question and answer format facilitates memorization of the many facts, which practically need to be committed to memory. Thanks to a reliable index and practical grouping of questions, this book will also serve as a ready source for the retrieval of information. However, there is more to clinical teaching than the ready exchange of clinical facts, and this book provides little help in the understanding of pathophysiology and the application of science. No references are provided for any of the answers. Still, the study of this text should facilitate didactic exchange, especially in terms of terminology as a preparatory step to in-depth learning.
Assessment: This is a useful and unique book. It may serve as an ancillary study guide, but not as the main text for inpatient medicine. In addition to the intended audience, it may be handy for teachers in preparing for rounds when called to deal with clinical problems outside their area of specialization. The content should remain current for a decade or more with the exception of certain therapy questions, such as HIV treatment.

Peter Sigmann

In this book well over 6,000 questions as they would typically occur on teaching rounds were contributed by medical students, fellows, and faculty representing all subspecialties of an academic department of medicine as well as neurology, dermatology, and clinical pharmacology. These questions are arranged side-by-side with concise answers. Questions and answers are grouped by organ systems and disease categories with minimal overlap. Within a topic they progress from terminology to classification, epidemiology, etiology, clinical features (including physical examination), diagnostic evaluation, therapy, and occasional ""clinical pearls."" Its purpose is to be a study guide and source of information. Medical students and junior house staff are the intended audience. This book feels alive and reflects the daily dialog of inpatient teaching. All areas of medicine are well covered. The question and answer format facilitates memorization of the many facts, which practically need to be committed to memory. Thanks to a reliable index and practical grouping of questions, this book will also serve as a ready source for the retrieval of information. However, there is more to clinical teaching than the ready exchange of clinical facts, and this book provides little help in the understanding of pathophysiology and the application of science. No references are provided for any of the answers. Still, the study of this text should facilitate didactic exchange, especially in terms of terminology as a preparatory step to in-depth learning. This is a useful and unique book. It may serve as an ancillary study guide, but not as the main text for inpatient medicine. In addition to the intendedaudience, it may be handy for teachers in preparing for rounds when called to deal with clinical problems outside their area of specialization. The content should remain current for a decade or more with the exception of certain therapy questions, such as HIV treatment.

3 Stars from Doody