Practical Clinical Medicine

Abstract

This book has been written for candidates preparing for the MRCP examinations.Doctors at this stage in their training are expected to have some knowledge of the full spectrum of medicine but may only have had first-hand experience in a few of the specialties.Merely reading the larger textbooks of medicine does not confer the kind of practical familiarity that permits candidates to approach the MRCP Part II with confi- dence.This 378 page book aims to provide a succinct and up-to-date synopsis of each of the medical specialties, emphasising important points and growth areas.Undoubtedly there is a demand for a textbook of this sort but, as is often the case in MRCP, the author's performance is patchy and success in some parts is marred by failure in others.The book is divided into four sections dealing with clinical method, emergency and special settings, clini- cal specialties and special clinical sub-specialties.The chapters in each section have been written by different authors and vary in approach and quality.In the first section Dr Davies deals with the 'approach to the patient'.The wisdom of including this chapter must be questioned.Some of the suggesed phraseology sounds awkward and archaic and should be avoided by medi- cal students.MRCP candidates should be fully conver- sant with the basics of history-taking and examination, and this highly personalised chapter may seem rather inappropriate for their needs.A more erudite discus- sion of communication skills would be preferable.The second section deals with emergencies and 'special settings'.The 'special settings' refers to a chapter by Dr Anthony Pinching dealing with patients sus- pected of having AIDS.This is clear and well written and I am sure it will be of value to students and doctors who have had little experience of the practical management of patients with AIDS.The chapter on emergencies and acute poisoning is poorly organised and poorly laid out.There are a number of short