Surgical Talk

This textbook is an introduction and guide to undergraduate surgery. It has been a bestseller since its first edition in 2001. The philosophy of this book is to focus on the level of knowledge and the approach that would be expected of the better students reaching the end of their undergraduate training. Avoiding a book that is too cumbersome, we have tried to make this volume readable and enjoyable, using various techniques to help the reader remember key facts: the text has been deliberately written in a tutorial-like story format as opposed to a set of lists, since this makes it easier to understand and remember. In addition to general surgery, the book contains sections on trauma, orthopaedics, urology and ENT, making it the only comprehensive textbook for medical students wishing to learn top tips in surgery. Subjects that are poorly covered in other main texts — such as fluid balance management and minor surgical procedures — are dealt with in a tutorial fashion in this book, and there is a section on how to problem-solve even in the context of areas unknown to the student. This book is useful for medical students and also for junior doctors during their day-to-day working lives, as well as those coming up to postgraduate exams. Each chapter is written by an authoritative author, alongside the book editors, and they have ensured it remains in the spirit of the bestselling previous editions. Foreword Foreword (31 KB)

As finals approach, medical students often become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of knowledge required to pass all subjects in one go, including surgery, medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology, pharmacology and psychiatry. Clearly the students cannot know each of these subjects in as much detail as they did during their individual attachments and they need to concentrate on important topics rather than minutiae. Whereas existing textbooks cover many topics very well and in great detail, they are lengthy and difficult to read in a short space of time; also some subjects are poorly covered and give no real understanding of practical management and logical thought processes -- the exact requirements for passing finals. Surgical Talk: Surgery for Finals is specifically aimed at helping students pass the surgical final examination; it concentrates on subjects and concepts that tend to confuse students. Each chapter is like a tutorial, providing tips on what to say and when to say it and more importantly a logical approach to answering questions. The book deals with topics poorly covered elsewhere, such as fluid balance, total parenteral nutrition, central lines, drains and surgical antibiotics. It also has comprehensive chapters on orthopaedics and urology. The reader will feel as though they are being taught one to one.

This textbook is an introduction and guide to undergraduate surgery. It has been a bestseller since its first edition in 2001. The philosophy of this book is to focus on the level of knowledge and the approach that would be expected of the better students reaching the end of their undergraduate training. Avoiding a book that is too cumbersome, we have tried to make this book readable and enjoyable as well as using various techniques to help the reader remember key facts. In addition to general surgery, the book contains sections on trauma, orthopaedics, urology and ENT making it the only comprehensive textbook for medical students wishing to learn top tips in surgery. Subjects that are poorly covered in all the main texts are dealt with in a tutorial fashion in this book, such as fluid balance management and minor surgical procedures and there is a section on how to problem solve even in the context of areas unknown to the student. This book is useful for medical students and also for junior doctors during their day to day working lives as well as those coming up to postgraduate exams. The text has been deliberately written in a tutorial-like story format as opposed to a set of lists, since this makes it easier to understand and remember. Each chapter is written by an authoritative author alongside the book editors who have ensured it remains in the spirit of the bestselling previous editions.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • This inspiring, exquisitely observed memoir finds hope and beauty in the face of insurmountable odds as an idealistic young neurosurgeon attempts to answer the question What makes a life worth living? NAMED ONE OF PASTE’S BEST MEMOIRS OF THE DECADE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • People • NPR • The Washington Post • Slate • Harper’s Bazaar • Time Out New York • Publishers Weekly • BookPage Finalist for the PEN Center USA Literary Award in Creative Nonfiction and the Books for a Better Life Award in Inspirational Memoir At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. And just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined evaporated. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a naïve medical student “possessed,” as he wrote, “by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life” into a neurosurgeon at Stanford working in the brain, the most critical place for human identity, and finally into a patient and new father confronting his own mortality. What makes life worth living in the face of death? What do you do when the future, no longer a ladder toward your goals in life, flattens out into a perpetual present? What does it mean to have a child, to nurture a new life as another fades away? These are some of the questions Kalanithi wrestles with in this profoundly moving, exquisitely observed memoir. Paul Kalanithi died in March 2015, while working on this book, yet his words live on as a guide and a gift to us all. “I began to realize that coming face to face with my own mortality, in a sense, had changed nothing and everything,” he wrote. “Seven words from Samuel Beckett began to repeat in my head: ‘I can’t go on. I’ll go on.’” When Breath Becomes Air is an unforgettable, life-affirming reflection on the challenge of facing death and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a brilliant writer who became both.

Medical students lack information on preparing for clinical surgical finals, particularly on common mistakes and the features which identify successful candidates. The Ultimate Guide to Passing Surgical Clinical Finals is an accessible and comprehensive preparation aid, equipping final year medical students with the knowledge and skills that they are expected to demonstrate both in clinical surgical finals and in clinical practice as junior doctors. Its tutorial-style approach provides advice on how to think logically, speak coherently, and demonstrate both breadth and depth of knowledge - all key hallmarks of successful candidates. The book's broad approach reflects the full range of skills and knowledge covered by modern curricula, including instruments, procedures and the increasing use of surgical imaging. It is vital reading for clinical year medical students preparing for final examinations in surgery, and for postgraduate students who wish to improve their presentation, viva and OSCE clinical examination skills. 'This book's approach is in the best surgical traditions of ordered thinking when it comes to the examination itself. I admire this book and commend it to you.' - From the Foreword by David E Khoo