Oxford Handbook of Clinical Specialties

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An essential buy, but its not quite OHCM... - Rated
'Salt and Vinegar', as this book has affectionately come to be know, has become something of a bible to a 3rd year med student. It has most of the information you'd need for the specialty rotations.
When compared to the OHCM, however, improvements to the layout of some of the text needs improving.
Also, the 'insights' given in this book- quotes from books, ethical tangents, are all too often not insightful at all. They're long and not always optional reading, as they're woven into the essential reading.

completely indispensible - Rated
My copy of this book is breaking apart at the spine and has a few missing pages: this is a testment only to the fact that I've used it so much. I'm an SHO in Paediatrics now, and, since I bought this book in third year I have used it countless times as both as a quick reference guide, and during revision for numerous exams. I quickly came to rely on this book and it's yellow-skinned cousin (OHCM) for brief and memorable introductions to ailments I encountered on the wards and during my revision. This edition is divided into several chapters including Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Ophthalmology, ENT, Dermatology, A£E, Orthopaedics, General Practice, and Psychiatry (amongst others).

While some might feel the poetic subtext on many of the pages is somewhat annoying and pretentious (read the page entitled 'a journey on foot' in the orthopaedic section), I have always found it a welcome augmentation to the raw medical dimension contained within the books pages.

No junior doctor in the UK should be without these books, of that I am certain.

A must for any med. student for quick reference on the wards - Rated
This book together with the Handbook for Clinical Medicine is absolutely essential for survival on the wards. If you havn't got a clue what's wrong with the patient, what the consultant is talking about or what you are meant to do next- these books help you out. They are compact enough to stick in your pocket, but have enough information crammed in to tell you everything that you could be expected to know about any condition. As I said this is a must for any med. student or junior doc. The proof really is that these aren't some new fancy books that have to be put to the test now, everyone I've spoken to seems to have been using them for years- Good Luck!