Customer Reviews

Clinical Judgement: Evidence in Practice (Oxford Medical Publications)

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This book is a real gem for anyone involved in taking clinical decisions. It is rare enough to find literature on good medical judgement, let alone books on medical philosophy and ethical reasoning that are presented in such a pragmatic and readable way. Especially amidst the widespread vogue of evidence based medicine, this book fills a wide gap between factual science and patient-oriented clinical analysis. Indeed, bearing in mind that physicians deal with patients, not with diseases, this book also presents a uniquely humane viewpoint to everyday decisions regarding patient care. It covers the elements of clear and effective judgement, from science, in general, to the clinic, in particular. But Downie and Macnaughton can't hide the fact that it is written in a scholarly way and is thus meant to be read in a stepwise, cover-to-cover continuum. It is directed to both pre- as well as postgraduate students, but I feel that undergraduates would do themselves (and especially their future patients) an enormous favor by reading it thoroughly early in their careers.