Oxford Handbook of Clinical Examination and Practical Skills (Oxford Handbooks)

"This book is an excellent addition to the ever-popular Oxford Handbook series. It has all the usual stuff that you'd expect in a clinical examination book, but it also includes detailed coverage of many essential practical procedures (e.g. ABG) and has good sections on psychiatry and paeds. Medical ethics even make a brief appearance. In addition, there is a large data interpretation chapter which covers all the essentials such as interpretation of the ECG and chest X-ray. The style is crisp and to the point with a distinctive, sometimes quirky but erudite tone that I find enjoyable to read - and the text is peppered with interesting facts and historical curiosities. For instance, did you know that cat allergy is caused by one of the proteins in feline saliva (their fur is covered in it through licking) or that Abraham Lincoln may have had Marfan's syndrome (his slightly blurred face in photographs is probably a reflection of head nodding due to aortic regurgitation - De Musset's sign!). Best of all, despite being the only handbook in full colour, it only costs about twenty quid and it just about fits in your pocket. Five stars!"
~ Written on 2007-11-12

"This is a great addition to the Handbooks range, with plenty of useful, detailed descriptions of the sorts of things seniors just assume you know. While revising for my own medical finals I clearly remember becoming obsessive about finding out exactly how to do things like demonstrate Kernig's sign - I could only find very brief explanations which did nothing to allay my anxieties. This book not only describes such things in detail, it also provides photos to show you how to do them. The book covers the history and examination of the systems (including, again, explicit details where other books simply tell you to (eg) "examine the lymph nodes") and includes the lot - paeds, obstetrics and psychiatry as well as the usual stuff. There is a big section with instructions on how to do everything from taking a BP to placing a central line and a section on data interpretation including the basics of ECGs and CXRs. A really useful book for medical students and recent (or not so recent!) graduates. "
~ Written on 2007-08-15