Customer Reviews

The Washington Manual of Medical Therapeutics (Spiral Manual Series)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Manual is great as a quick reference for common issues, and it's reasonably portable. It wasn't intended as a comprehensive text of medicine (Harrison's is the best choice for that) nor as a board review (try MKSAP. For its intended use, however, it easily beats out the other "pocket" guides.

As a cardiologist who sees internal medicine patients on call, the Wash U manual is a great help. It provides succinct summaries that greatly assist decision-making in the small hours of the morning, or when accessing a more comprehensive reference is not available. It is ideal for the subspecialist dealing with patients outside his area of limited expertise.

...not a textbook and probably not very helpful at all for the layman (here the Merck Manual would be much more informative). This annually updated, now essentially inpatient-only manual of Internal Medicine therapeutics is nearly indispensable for the harried House Officer. By the springtime of your Internship, your Washington Manual will be duly frayed, pages bent in places describing the management of DKA, Gram Negative Sepsis, and DTs, thoroughly stained with coffee, blood, crystal violet, safranin, &c., and most thankfully, much less necessary than it was in July! Now, a word of caution: never, ever, ever quote the Washington Manual on rounds; doing so will make you the target of all manner of condescending questions from your seniors and attendings throughout your rotation. Carry your Manual on call, leave it out of sight otherwise, and read your Harrison's or equivalent daily. Oh, and when you're really exhausted and disgusted, remember "this too shall pass".

Althought the Washington Manual has faced some competition from other handbooks of internal medicine over the past years (see author Ferri), no manual has provided an alternative that comes close to matching the combination of breadth and succinctness found in this text. My advice to students and housestaff is this: Do not be tempted to buy an alternative manual merely because it fits more comfortably into the pocket of your lab coat. During late on-call nights on the medical wards, when the decision is up to you, you will either be glad you chose Washington or sorry you didn't. Thorough, succint, up to date, and time tested, The Washington Manual is the only choice.

There is no other book in it's class. I have been a physician for over 30 years and found no other book as useful as this book in the care of seriously ill patients. I have always possessed the most recent version of the manual since I was a medical student and had it at arms length throughout my professional career. It has never failed me. With this book you can be assured that you are practicing the most up to date and effective medicine of the day. It is the only worthwhile "peripheral brain" to have.

This book is a standard text for the internal medicine staff. It not only gives detailed therapeutic information with added citation of the relevant literature articles. Often there is also an introductory passage on the diagnostic workflow. This book is famous, because it's simply excellent.

Very compact and complete. The best quick reference Internal Medicine text I have ever used. Get it: You will use it every day.

This reference is extraordinarily useful in multiple fields of medicine. Containing succinct information on disease states, therapeutics, and monitoring, this book should be included in every physician and pharmacist's library.

Great book. Has some pathophysio but is very concise and straight to the point. Best used in the wards. Has specific therapeutic plans which can be followed. The 30th edition is a lot better than the 29th. A lot of new therpeutics out there and it has been reflected in this manual. Very good buy. It might be cheaper to buy in at a local bookstore so compare prices first. Shouldn't be used as a text for course work. Big texts such as Harrison's is still the best

I have been through 3 editions of this text, and I continue to be underwhelmed. During my training, i have found this book to be overly brief about the more common pathologies I have seen. Furthermore, the layout is not condusive to a quick search. It has potential, but i am disappointed that it has not achieved more of it, despite the multiple editions.