Upload
richard-walker
View
212
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Book Review
How to Survive in Anaesthetics(2nd Edition)Neville Robinson and George Hall
BMJ Books 2002
The first weeks of anaesthetic training
can be a daunting time. Much of the
core information is not common
to other specialities, and there is a
heavy emphasis on dusty memories of
undergraduate science. Fortunately, the
majority of trainees are guided through
this period by a senior anaesthetist who
can help them distinguish the �wood
from the trees�. Robinson and Hall
have aimed their book at just these
embryonic anaesthetists, and the fact
that it has survived to a second edition
is either a mark of its popularity, or
evidence of the need to assuage fear by
book buying. The question is, to what
extent does it achieve its intentions?
The book contains a wealth of factual
and practical advice for an anaesthetic
novice. It is sensibly structured into
three sections, dealing with basic anaes-
thetic equipment and skills, critical
incidents, and outlines of the issues in
anaesthetizing for some common oper-
ations. The content, though not
exhaustive, is on the whole, relevant
to its audience. Important lists ⁄ algo-
rithms are highlighted in coloured
boxes, and this goes some way to
improving clarity, although less import-
ant facts sometimes find themselves
being given undeserved prominence.
There is no doubt that this book is a
personal view of anaesthetics. It has a
paternalistic approach to the reader,
and a prosaic style. There is an
emphasis on clinical wisdom over
evidence-based practice, which is in
no way a bad thing in our changing
training climate. However, since the
publication of the first edition in 1997,
several other publications compete for
the attention of new trainees. Not least
of these is the Oxford Handbook of
Anaesthetics. For my money, this offers
a more accessible and rigorous source
of information, and has the benefit of
providing a useful quick reference for
years to come.
I am sure How To Survive in Anaes-
thesia will remain popular, but it is a pity
that the revised edition has not taken
the opportunity to decide the role it is
aiming to fulfil. It isn’t a lean pocket
reference book; it isn’t an early text-
book either. If anything it is an attempt
to impart the attitudes, rather than the
knowledge of anaesthetic practice. For
this I would recommend it, but I can’t
help but feel this is best acquired from
those who train new SHOs, and not
from a book.
Richard Walker & Tasneem Ali
SpRs in Anaesthesia,
Derriford Hospital, Plymouth
Anaesthesia, 2003, 58, page 106.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................
106 � 2003 Blackwell Publishing Ltd