Customer Reviews

Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide 5th Edition Companion Handbook

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Owning this book is simply mandatory--unless, of course, you are certain than neither you nor any loved one will ever need to be admitted to an emergency room. While I am by no means a physician, this thick little paperback has allowed me to make an informed assessment of the treatment that family members have received, and to make it easier for doctors and nurses to explain things to me. Aimed (as you can see from the other reviews here for the massive study guide for which this book is a companion) totally for physicians, it is assumed that the reader is familiar with medical terminology. But it isn't that bad, really--acronyms are usually defined when they are first used in each section, and I have found that a run-of-the-mill collegiate dictionary suffices for most of the anatomic and diagnostic terms. A Physician's Desk Reference would be most helpful for acquainting oneself with the drugs, dosages and regimens referred to in the book, and it doesn't hurt to have someone in the medical field you can query about procedures and policies. Basically, I see no reason why such information needs to be confined to those in the profession, and believe everyone should be aware of the mechanics of trauma treatment. Also, I have simply found it to be fascinating reading (the incredibly succinct description of the stages of child/adolescent development--from the point of view of the assessing ED physician--says more in two pages than all the oceans of ink that have been spilled--in newspapers and magazines--on the topic of children in our society).