Core Clinical Cases Self Assessment for Medical Students Book 1 2e

The core clinical Case book is an excellent book for self testing and I believe will be particularly useful for when leading up to exams, for second, third and fourth years. The authors of the book are Liverpool graduates and very familiar with the PBL process, arranging many of the cases in a similar way to some PBL scenarios. The Core clinical cases book begins with a list of common abbreviations used in medicine, which are useful for referring to. There are nine topics with a mixture of both surgery and medicine, for example gastrointestinal, endocrinology and rheumatology to list a few. Each of the nine topics has four clinical cases, designed to prompt the student to think as though a realistic clinical scenario. The first half of the book has a space to write in the answers and the second half of the book has the answers explained under the questing, to save having to flick back to the question in the first half. The cases presented are largely very realistic, typically there is information regarding the presenting complaint and history of presenting complaint given at the beginning of the case. Questions commonly appearing asked about normal functions of the organ, causes and risk factors associated with a condition, investigations, what specific investigations and results indicate, management plans, complications, preventative measures and prognosis. All of the questions asked I would expect to commonly see as a medical student or doctor on a regular basis. I found having blood results, radiographs, CT scans and ECGs for interpretation one of the most useful aspects of the book, as it tends to be one of the most challenging tasks, particularly if in the earlier years of your medical career. Having the answer explained later on in the book is of large benefit and the explanations, though not in massive amounts of detail and may require further reading in some cases are clear and concise. The teaching notes reflecting clinical knowledge, in the second half of the book answering the questions not only provide one answer for the question, but list several possibilities for some causes or results broadening knowledge and allowing medical students to think about certain cases from many different approaches, as will come with experience. I have not yet done my examinations using the book, so am unable to comment as to what extent this will help in preparation for those, but it has proved helpful so far and I have enjoyed reading and testing myself. I would definitely recommend this book to second, third and fourth years preparing for exams, on a problem based learning course.