ER registrar in book form | |
Emergency medicine. Diagnosis and management (2nd ed). Anthony F T Brown. Melbourne: Butterworth Heinemann, 2001 (xx +379 pp). ISBN 0 75068 956 0. |
Emergency medicine
is a 24-hour specialty managing a large variety of acute conditions. Although the range of knowledge necessary to practice at a consultant level is extensive, there is a core of information that should be available to all who manage acutely unwell patients. This information is even more valuable to those who only require it infrequently — particularly in peripheral, rural and remote locations where specialist advice is limited or absent.
Associate Professor Brown is a well-respected academic, clinician and teacher. He was a recipient of the first teaching prize from the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and is an active participant in a hospital-based critical care retrieval service. He is a man very much in tune with the needs of his target audience: junior medical staff, general practitioners, senior medical students, critical care nursing staff, paramedics and others who may not have immediate access to specialist-level advice. Emergency medicine has been written as a handbook. The format is logical, methodical and provides a framework for the management of a wide spectrum of illnesses and injury. The structure is concise and consistent, with an emphasis on rapid diagnosis, immediate management and subsequent referral. Each section guides the reader step by step through the necessary elements of acute care. This latest edition of a popular text includes updated adult and paediatric resuscitation guidelines and new sections including environmental emergencies, acute coronary syndromes, hyponatraemia, hypercalcaemia, purpura, triage, retrieval and transfer. The introduction of a risk-management section reflects the evolving medicolegal environment that we work in and reminds us of the importance of practising quality medicine. The conciseness, portability and affordability of this text make it an excellent "registrar in book form". Garry J Wilkes
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