Clinical Medicine: A Clerking Companion

David Randall and Adam Feather FRCP

The ideal resource to help you transform medical knowledge into effective clinical practice.
A friend over the shoulder when encountering ward-based clinical medicine for the first time.
Clear, intuitive structure provides a confidence-building framework on which to base your activity on the wards, helping you get the most out of the clinical experience on offer.
Unique workbook format uses pro formas to help you gather and record all the most relevant and essential information to help in the diagnosis and treatment of patients, with the same pro formas acting as ideal revision material later on.
Questions throughout encourage you to reflect on your experience on the wards in the context of basic sciences, communication skills, professionalism, evidence based medicine, data interpretation, practical skills and inter-professional skills.

Clinical Medicine: A Clerking Companion

David Randall and Adam Feather FRCP

Description

Students starting on the wards are often bewildered at their role and unable to make the most of the learning opportunities presented to them. Clinical Medicine: A Clerking Companion is written for inexperienced clinical students, and helps them to use their patients to learn medicine. At heart, it is a workbook that students can use whilst on the wards, that provides students with a framework for approaching patients with a range of common conditions. It is a 'friend over the shoulder' - guiding students through history taking and medical examination, and then evaluating the patient's current condition and their future management. It is also a self-directed learning portfolio, helping students to assess their progress by seeing where they are lacking clinical exposure.

The book's introduction explains how to use it to make the most of time spent on the wards - how to interview and examine patients, how to use the book in recording findings findings, and then how to present patients to doctors. It emphasises the importance of anonymising patient information and ensuring patient consent before interviewing and examining them. The book goes on to cover around 50 common medical and surgical problems. Each chapter (for instance 'cardiology') begins with an introductory section offering basic approaches to the symptoms, signs, skills and investigations encountered in that specialty. The subsequent clerking proformas provide a guided framework for students to follow when working with their patients. A set of questions then helps students explore the topic in more detail - sending them back to their textbooks to read about what they have seen and understand the science underlying it.
Online Resource Centre The Online Resource Centre to accompany Clinical Medicine: A Clerking Companion features dynamic, annotated figures and PDFs of the proformas in the book, available to download.

Clinical Medicine: A Clerking Companion

David Randall and Adam Feather FRCP

Introduction
1:Introduction
2:How to use this book
3:Recognising the sick patient
4:History taking
5:Examination
6:Forming an impression
7:How to present patients
8:Writing in patients' notes
9:Prescibing skills
10:Glossary
11:Table of normal values
Chapter 1: Cardiology
1:Introduction to Cardiology
2:Acute coronary syndrome
3:Myocardial infarction and secondary prevention
4:Heart failure
5:Dysrhythmias
6:Valvular and structural heart disease
7:Syncope and falls
Chapter 2: Respiratory medicine
1:Introduction to respiratory medicine
2:Athsma
3:COPD
4:DVT and PE
5:Pneumnia
6:Lung cancer
7:Pneumthorax
8:Tuberculosis
9:Interstitial lung disease
Chapter 3: Gastroeneterology
1:Introduction to gastroenterology
2:Upper GI bleeding
3:Gastric and oesophageal cancer
4:Acute hepatitis
5:Chronic liver disease
6:Inflammatory bowel disease
Chapter 4: Renal medicine
1:Introduction to renal medicine
2:Acute kidney injury
3:Chronic kidney disease
4:UTI and pyelonephritis
Chapter 5: Endocrinology
1:Introduction to endocrinology
2:Hyperglycaemic emergencies
3:The diabetic review
4:Thyroid disease
5:Steroid disease
Chapter 6: Neurology
1:Introduction to neurology
2:Stroke and TIAs
3:Acute confusion
4:Seizures
5:Headache
6:Spinal and peripheral nerve lesions
7:Parkinson's disease
Chapter 7: Multisystem diseases
1:Introduction to multisystem diseases
2:Acute arthritis
3:Anaemia
4:Haematological malignacies
5:HIV and AIDS
6:Skin ulcers
7:Tropical diseases
Chapter 8: Surgery
1:Introduction to surgery
2:Acute abdominal pain
3:Intestinal obstruction
4:Pancreatitis
5:Hernias
6:Colorectal carcinoma
7:Lumps and bumps
8:Breast cancer
9:Peripheral vascular disease
10:Haematuria
11:Prostate disease
12:Trauma

Clinical Medicine: A Clerking Companion

David Randall and Adam Feather FRCP

Author Information

David Randall, Queen's University Hospital, Romford, and Adam Feather FRCP, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry

David Randall studied medicine at Peterhouse, Cambridge, and then at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry. He then completed an academic foundation programme specialising in medical education and is now working as a junior doctor in general medicine at Queen's Hospital, Romford.

Adam Feather is Senior Lecturer in Medical Education at the Institute of Health Science Education, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry. Adam is a Lead for Clinical Skills with a particular interest in the teaching and learning of clinical examination skills. He is the co lead for part 6a (written Finals) assessment with particular interest in the development of new and innovative written, computer based and clinical assessments.

Clinical Medicine: A Clerking Companion

David Randall and Adam Feather FRCP

Reviews and Awards

"Randall and Feather have delivered a clear and concise, well-illustrated work-book that many will welcome. The authors must be commended for a unique text that encourages students to engage in continual and reflective clerking to refine their clinical acumen." - British Journal of Hospital Medicine

"This helpful and well-organized book will be valuable to medical students beginning their clinical orientation to medicine. Weighted Numerical Score: 100-5 Stars!" - Doody's Notes