Medicine in a Minute

 by Amar Vaswani (Author), Hwan Juet Khaw (Author)

Many senior clinicians have likened the study and mastery of medicine to drinking out of a fire hydrant.

In the course of three short years, students are placed on a merry-go-round of clinical specialties and are expected to take information in by the bucketful.

Most students are able to grasp the relevant concepts quite readily. Why, then, do finals and post-graduate exams induce such fear and trepidation? Apart from the high stakes involved, we believe that the playing field when it comes to medical education has changed in three fundamental ways, and this has greatly impacted the way medicine is taught.

1.    Mismatched expectations

There is a great mismatch between what institutions want and what students need. Speaking from experience, many students feel that the materials they are provided with do not suitably prepare them for their exams. Likewise, many doctors feel that their medical school experience has not adequately prepared them for clinical practice.

Studies conducted by the GMC in the last decade echo the problems faced by new foundation doctors, recommending that the curriculum should be structurally overhauled. Our book aims to bridge the gap, as far as possible, providing clarity and empowering students and junior doctors with up-to-date, guideline-based information (which is considered the gold standard), to enable them to progress with confidence.

2.    Information overload

This is the era of information overload in medicine, and one amusing anecdote sums up our experience. When we were preparing for our final exams, the official advice was to'read UpToDate'.

UpToDate is a medical reference website, containing a wealth of information, used by practising clinicians across the globe.This advice can be likened to asking

a young secondary school student to prepare for their English paper by reading a 30-volume encyclopaedia.

This naturally caused some worry amongst students, as many wondered what the most effective resource was and how best to prepare. (Very few actually used UpToDate as their sole revision source, though we wouldn't be at all surprised if several students did indeed manage to accomplish this feat.) Forthe mere mortals among us, we believe ourtextbook will help reduce the anxiety and stress linked to the information overload that comes when embarking on each new step in your career path.

3. The pursuit of excellence

Ultimately, medicine, more than anything, humbles us all. No amount of study will ever confer complete mastery of the material. Total expertise remains elusive, encouraging each aspirant to strive to do their very best fortheir patients.

There is a quiet beauty to simplicity - both for ourselves as physicians and for our patients. Mastery develops from this simplicity, as we add layer after layer of bricks and mortar until the foundation is rock solid and well-nigh impregnable. If data are the bricks with which we build, compassion and empathy are most certainly the cement.

Many of our mentors have exemplified these principles in practice, and it would be remiss of us not to share their findings with you. It is our great wish that this foundation will continue to grow stronger, as our readers become more skilled and more compassionate.

Excellence, therefore, is what we must aim for - both in our everyday dealings with patients, and in our commitment to honing our craft. We are indebted to our mentors, who have shown us that the pursuit of excellence can keep us humble, who have encouraged us to hone our craft, and to serve steadfastly.

We hope that this textbook will encourage you to do the same. We wish you the very best in your exams and in your studies, and, for students taking their final exams, we cheer you on in spirit.

Go forth boldly, spurred on by love and support from your family, friends and teachers, and strive to do your best, for it won't be long before it will be your turn to be handed the bleep.

Commit yourself to excellence, and we trust that, in due course, you will find yourself more than ready to take up this calling, like so many who have come before you.

Product details

• Publisher : Scion Publishing Ltd.; 1st edition (April 22 2019)
• Language : English
• Paperback : 464 pages
• ISBN-10 : 1907904980
• ISBN-13 : 978-1907904981
• Item weight : 1.01 kg
• Dimensions : 17.2 x 2.54 x 24.38 cm