Medical book reviews, education, and commentary.
The Chief Complaint (2014) is ideal for junior trainees and advanced medical students who are on an emergency medicine rotation and want to contribute to high acuity patient care without losing their bearing. What’s best, you can download it for free onto your mobile device.
Frameworks for Internal Medicine (2018) is a very popular 768-page book which lays out a fairly detailed algorithmic approach to internal medicine. It is a single author book, which is a very rare accomplishment for an author of a book of this size and scope. The book employs mainly two teaching methods: the algorithmic approach … Read more
Knowledge of clinical tropical medicine is essential for every modern physician. The diseases of warm climates are no longer restricted by geographical boundaries because the scope and speed of air travel … make us all part of a global community. Tropical Medicine (2013) Tropical Medicine: A Clinical Text (2013), first published in 1964, is comprised … Read more
Despite some important limitations, Board Basics (2019) is still the best single volume internal medicine review book for internists. (I reviewed a previous edition of this book elsewhere so I will restate the review and provide applicable relevant changes). Board Basics (2019) is loaded with essential and hard-to-find charts, lists, tips and answers to Board … Read more
Tropical Medicine Notebook (2017) is a smallish book (about 200 pages) crammed with usefully organized text, tables and drawings to help you learn and retain virtually all key ideas in medical microbiology. It’s an ideal handbook to have on your person as you try to learn or relearn the vast field of clinical microbiology in easy-to-digest bite-sized … Read more
Vademecum Metabolicum (2011) is an expensive, weirdly named, and hard-to-find 150-page niche book, but it’s the best in its genre. “Vademecum” is Latin for “handbook.” (I know this because I looked it up). So, this is a handbook about metabolic disorders. The book contains virtually everything you need to know if you are, or want … Read more
Essentials in Hematology and Clinical Pathology (2016) is one of the finest hematology books in the market today, and, strangely, you can buy it new for under $30 (US). Hematology is a specialty that straddles both clinical medicine and pathology, and this book is an absolute winner on two separate levels: (1) the clinical discussions … Read more