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How To Choose a Medical Specialty
Mayo Clin Proc, September 1986, Vol 61
The absence of the personal warmth of this distinguished author disappointed me. The text communicates in a well-organized but rote fashion with use of endless quotes from a profuse bibliog raphy at the end of each chapter. The references seem more than the text could justify and, unfortu nately, are not selectively highlighted. This text presents an outstanding summary of the challenges of the esophagus. Although the style is uninspiring, the material is appropriate, current, and exhaustive enough to warrant the price. Philip E. Bernatz, M.D. Section of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
Complications of Surgery of the Lower Gastrointestinal Tract (Complications in Sur gery series), by J. A. R. Smith and Irving Taylor, 228 pp, with illus, $39.95, London, BailHere Tindall (distributed by W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia), 1985
BOOK REVIEWS
767
Line drawings are liberally interspersed, but few tables or other organizational techniques are used to summarize complications or management points. I was somewhat disappointed in the obvious omission of some material. For example, the use of intrahepatic infusion in the management of he patic metastatic lesions is not addressed, and the management of diarrhea after ileorectal or ileoanal procedures is discussed only superficially. The authors devote a fair amount of space to discussions of techniques, presumably with the aim of avoiding complications. Nevertheless, this is not a technique-oriented book, and these sec tions tend to weaken rather than strengthen the overall impression of the book. I personally would have preferred more tables and an organization that facilitates quicker referencing rather than a didactic exposition. This text should serve as an adequate introduc tion to the surgical complications of the lower gastrointestinal tract. Academicians will find the treatment superficial and inadequately refer enced. Practicing general surgeons should have some familiarity with most of these complications yet will probably not add substantially to their fund of knowledge by reading this book.
Because surgical complications of the lower gas trointestinal tract are numerous, I was immedi ately surprised by the relatively small size of this book. Both general surgeons and physicians Robert W. Beart, Jr., M.D. should be interested in this text, the former be Department of Surgery cause they perform operative procedures on the colon and rectum and the latter because they may be responsible for the postoperative care and How To Choose a Medical Specialty, by Anita management of the complications of such D. Taylor, 222 pp, $9.95, Philadelphia, W. B. procedures. Saunders Company, 1986 The authors classify complications into 16 cate gories. Some complications, such as sepsis, incon This book is an extremely useful, concise but tinence, trauma to genitourinary structures, and complete, inexpensive paperback that details the recurrence after colorectal cancer, may be influ approach to choosing a medical specialty. It is enced by surgical technique or management. Oth designed as a workbook to help medical students ers, however, such as diverticular disease and and residents interested in further subspecialty inflammatory bowel disease, are perhaps less training decide which of the many specialty areas affected by operative technique. of medical practice fits their interests, abilities, The book is clearly written for surgeons who are and personality. Graduates from two recent classes of Bowman actively involved in managing these problems. It contains little physiology and is only modestly Gray School of Medicine and numerous practicing referenced. The approach is pragmatic and defi physicians in the various medical specialties offer nitely based on the experience of the authors. practical advice for the readers. Specific data Although the authors attempt to support their about fellowship programs, board certification, work, the references are generally limited to Brit supply and projection of physicians, economic ish publications; for the most part, a wealth of status, and types of practice are described for 36 experience from other countries has been ignored. specialties and subspecialties, ranging from aero-
768
BOOK REVIEWS
space medicine to urology. I n addition, a compos ite picture of e a c h specialist is presented; t h e details a r e b a s e d on a q u e s t i o n n a i r e t h a t h a d been completed by p h y s i c i a n s in t h a t particular specialty. F u r t h e r c h a p t e r s a d d r e s s t h e topics of p l a n n i n g for residency selection, use of t h e m a t c h i n g pro g r a m , m i l i t a r y residencies, s h a r e d residencies, couples a n d t h e m a t c h , a n d w h a t to do if a c a n d i d a t e fails to m a t c h for a residency. T h i s book should be required r e a d i n g for all medical s t u d e n t s , r e s i d e n t s who are interested in further subspecialty t r a i n i n g , a n d practitioners interested in a career c h a n g e . Medical school d e a n s of s t u d e n t s a n d residency p r o g r a m direc tors should also be familiar with t h i s book a n d should s h a r e its information w i t h medical stu d e n t s a n d residents in their p r o g r a m s . Proper p l a n n i n g b a s e d on t h e information available in t h i s book certainly could lead to a more satisfied practicing physician. Roger L. Nelson, M.D. Division of E n d o c r i n o l o g y / M e t a b o l i s m a n d I n t e r n a l Medicine
BOOKS RECEIVED Rheumatoid Arthritis: Etiology, D i a g n o s i s , Management, edited by Peter D. Utsinger, Nathan J. Zvaifler, and George E. Ehrlich, 934 pp, with illus, $67.50, Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott Company, 1985 A Student-to-Student Guide to Medical School: Study Strategies, Mnemonics, Personal Growth, by R. William Betcher, 278 pp, with illus, $12.95, Boston, Little, Brown and Company, 1985 Manual and Atlas of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology, by Svante R. Orell, Gregory F. Sterrett, Max N.-I. Walters, and Darrel Whitaker, 238 pp, with illus, $139, New York, Churchill Livingstone (distributed by Longman, White Plains, New York), 1986 The Leukotrienes: Their Biological Significance, edited by Priscilla J. Piper, 1,986 pp, with illus, $54, New York, Raven Press, 1986 The Role of Receptors in Biology and Medicine, edited by Antonio M. Gotto, Jr. and Bert W. O'Malley, 219 pp, with illus, $43, New York, Raven Press, 1986 Mast Cell Differentiation and Heterogeneity, edited by A. Dean Befus, John Bienenstock, and Judah A. Denburg, 448 pp, with illus, $69.50, New York, Raven Press, 1986
Mayo Clin Proc, September 1986, Vol 61
Preoperative (Neoadjuvant) Chemotherapy (Re cent Results in Cancer Research, Vol 103), edited by Joseph Ragaz, Pierre R. Band, and James H. Goldie, 162 pp, with illus, $47, New York, Springer-Verlag, 1986 Abnormal Pulmonary Circulation (Contempo rary Issues in Pulmonary Disease, Vol 4), edited by Edward H. Bergofsky, 343 pp, with illus, $45, New York, Churchill Livingstone (distributed by Longman, White Plains, New York), 1986 Neurobiochemistry: Selected Topics, edited by Bernd Hamprecht and Volker Neuhoff, 212 pp, with illus, $49, New York, Springer-Verlag, 1985 Primary Hypertension: Basic Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications, edited by Werner Kauf mann, Gerd Bonner, Robert Lang, and Karl August Meurer, 239 pp, with illus, $49, New York, SpringerVerlag, 1986 Manual of Clinical Problems in Infectious Disease, 2nd ed, by Nelson M. Gantz, Richard A. Gleckman, Richard B. Brown, and Anthony L. Esposito, 420 pp, $19.50, Boston, Little, Brown and Company, 1986 Dupuytren's Disease, 2nd ed (G. E. M. Monograph series), edited by John T. Hueston and Raoul Tubiana, 215 pp, with illus, $58, London, Churchill Livingstone (distributed in the United States by Longman, White Plains, New York), 1985 The Conus Medullaris and Cauda Equina in Man: An Atlas of the Arteries and Veins, by Henry Vernon Crock, Masaaki Yamagishi, and Mary Carmel Crock, 77 pp, with illus, $45, New York, SpringerVerlag, 1986 Anaesthesia for the Non-Specialist, by David Komesaroff, 261 pp, with illus, $24.95, Baltimore, Wil liams & Wilkins, 1986 Pharmacology of Eating Disorders: Theoretical and Clinical Developments, edited by Michele O. Carruba and John E. Blundell, 192 pp, with illus, $33, New York, Raven Press, 1986 Brain Edema, edited by Yutaka Inaba, Igor Klatzo, and Maria Spatz, 682 pp, with illus, $110, New York, Springer-Verlag, 1985 Neuropeptides in Neurologic and Psychiatric Disease (Research Publications: Association for Re search in Nervous and Mental Disease, Vol 64), edited by Joseph B. Martin and Jack D. Barchas, 290 pp, with illus, $69.50, New York, Raven Press, 1986 Textbook of Genito-urinary Surgery (in 2 vols), edited by Hugh N. Whitfield and William F. Hendry, 1,396 pp, with illus, $208, New York, Churchill Living stone (distributed by Longman, White Plains, New York), 1985 Basic Mechanisms of the Epilepsies: Molecular and Cellular Approaches (Advances in Neurology, Vol 44), edited by Antonio V. Delgado-Escueta, Arthur A. Ward, Jr., Dixon M. Woodbury, and Roger J. Porter, 1,096 pp, with illus, $98.50, New York, Raven Press, 1986
The absence of the personal warmth of this distinguished author disappointed me. The text communicates in a well-organized but rote fashion with use of endless quotes from a profuse bibliog raphy at the end of each chapter. The references seem more than the text could justify and, unfortu nately, are not selectively highlighted. This text presents an outstanding summary of the challenges of the esophagus. Although the style is uninspiring, the material is appropriate, current, and exhaustive enough to warrant the price. Philip E. Bernatz, M.D. Section of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
Complications of Surgery of the Lower Gastrointestinal Tract (Complications in Sur gery series), by J. A. R. Smith and Irving Taylor, 228 pp, with illus, $39.95, London, BailHere Tindall (distributed by W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia), 1985
BOOK REVIEWS
767
Line drawings are liberally interspersed, but few tables or other organizational techniques are used to summarize complications or management points. I was somewhat disappointed in the obvious omission of some material. For example, the use of intrahepatic infusion in the management of he patic metastatic lesions is not addressed, and the management of diarrhea after ileorectal or ileoanal procedures is discussed only superficially. The authors devote a fair amount of space to discussions of techniques, presumably with the aim of avoiding complications. Nevertheless, this is not a technique-oriented book, and these sec tions tend to weaken rather than strengthen the overall impression of the book. I personally would have preferred more tables and an organization that facilitates quicker referencing rather than a didactic exposition. This text should serve as an adequate introduc tion to the surgical complications of the lower gastrointestinal tract. Academicians will find the treatment superficial and inadequately refer enced. Practicing general surgeons should have some familiarity with most of these complications yet will probably not add substantially to their fund of knowledge by reading this book.
Because surgical complications of the lower gas trointestinal tract are numerous, I was immedi ately surprised by the relatively small size of this book. Both general surgeons and physicians Robert W. Beart, Jr., M.D. should be interested in this text, the former be Department of Surgery cause they perform operative procedures on the colon and rectum and the latter because they may be responsible for the postoperative care and How To Choose a Medical Specialty, by Anita management of the complications of such D. Taylor, 222 pp, $9.95, Philadelphia, W. B. procedures. Saunders Company, 1986 The authors classify complications into 16 cate gories. Some complications, such as sepsis, incon This book is an extremely useful, concise but tinence, trauma to genitourinary structures, and complete, inexpensive paperback that details the recurrence after colorectal cancer, may be influ approach to choosing a medical specialty. It is enced by surgical technique or management. Oth designed as a workbook to help medical students ers, however, such as diverticular disease and and residents interested in further subspecialty inflammatory bowel disease, are perhaps less training decide which of the many specialty areas affected by operative technique. of medical practice fits their interests, abilities, The book is clearly written for surgeons who are and personality. Graduates from two recent classes of Bowman actively involved in managing these problems. It contains little physiology and is only modestly Gray School of Medicine and numerous practicing referenced. The approach is pragmatic and defi physicians in the various medical specialties offer nitely based on the experience of the authors. practical advice for the readers. Specific data Although the authors attempt to support their about fellowship programs, board certification, work, the references are generally limited to Brit supply and projection of physicians, economic ish publications; for the most part, a wealth of status, and types of practice are described for 36 experience from other countries has been ignored. specialties and subspecialties, ranging from aero-
768
BOOK REVIEWS
space medicine to urology. I n addition, a compos ite picture of e a c h specialist is presented; t h e details a r e b a s e d on a q u e s t i o n n a i r e t h a t h a d been completed by p h y s i c i a n s in t h a t particular specialty. F u r t h e r c h a p t e r s a d d r e s s t h e topics of p l a n n i n g for residency selection, use of t h e m a t c h i n g pro g r a m , m i l i t a r y residencies, s h a r e d residencies, couples a n d t h e m a t c h , a n d w h a t to do if a c a n d i d a t e fails to m a t c h for a residency. T h i s book should be required r e a d i n g for all medical s t u d e n t s , r e s i d e n t s who are interested in further subspecialty t r a i n i n g , a n d practitioners interested in a career c h a n g e . Medical school d e a n s of s t u d e n t s a n d residency p r o g r a m direc tors should also be familiar with t h i s book a n d should s h a r e its information w i t h medical stu d e n t s a n d residents in their p r o g r a m s . Proper p l a n n i n g b a s e d on t h e information available in t h i s book certainly could lead to a more satisfied practicing physician. Roger L. Nelson, M.D. Division of E n d o c r i n o l o g y / M e t a b o l i s m a n d I n t e r n a l Medicine
BOOKS RECEIVED Rheumatoid Arthritis: Etiology, D i a g n o s i s , Management, edited by Peter D. Utsinger, Nathan J. Zvaifler, and George E. Ehrlich, 934 pp, with illus, $67.50, Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott Company, 1985 A Student-to-Student Guide to Medical School: Study Strategies, Mnemonics, Personal Growth, by R. William Betcher, 278 pp, with illus, $12.95, Boston, Little, Brown and Company, 1985 Manual and Atlas of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology, by Svante R. Orell, Gregory F. Sterrett, Max N.-I. Walters, and Darrel Whitaker, 238 pp, with illus, $139, New York, Churchill Livingstone (distributed by Longman, White Plains, New York), 1986 The Leukotrienes: Their Biological Significance, edited by Priscilla J. Piper, 1,986 pp, with illus, $54, New York, Raven Press, 1986 The Role of Receptors in Biology and Medicine, edited by Antonio M. Gotto, Jr. and Bert W. O'Malley, 219 pp, with illus, $43, New York, Raven Press, 1986 Mast Cell Differentiation and Heterogeneity, edited by A. Dean Befus, John Bienenstock, and Judah A. Denburg, 448 pp, with illus, $69.50, New York, Raven Press, 1986
Mayo Clin Proc, September 1986, Vol 61
Preoperative (Neoadjuvant) Chemotherapy (Re cent Results in Cancer Research, Vol 103), edited by Joseph Ragaz, Pierre R. Band, and James H. Goldie, 162 pp, with illus, $47, New York, Springer-Verlag, 1986 Abnormal Pulmonary Circulation (Contempo rary Issues in Pulmonary Disease, Vol 4), edited by Edward H. Bergofsky, 343 pp, with illus, $45, New York, Churchill Livingstone (distributed by Longman, White Plains, New York), 1986 Neurobiochemistry: Selected Topics, edited by Bernd Hamprecht and Volker Neuhoff, 212 pp, with illus, $49, New York, Springer-Verlag, 1985 Primary Hypertension: Basic Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications, edited by Werner Kauf mann, Gerd Bonner, Robert Lang, and Karl August Meurer, 239 pp, with illus, $49, New York, SpringerVerlag, 1986 Manual of Clinical Problems in Infectious Disease, 2nd ed, by Nelson M. Gantz, Richard A. Gleckman, Richard B. Brown, and Anthony L. Esposito, 420 pp, $19.50, Boston, Little, Brown and Company, 1986 Dupuytren's Disease, 2nd ed (G. E. M. Monograph series), edited by John T. Hueston and Raoul Tubiana, 215 pp, with illus, $58, London, Churchill Livingstone (distributed in the United States by Longman, White Plains, New York), 1985 The Conus Medullaris and Cauda Equina in Man: An Atlas of the Arteries and Veins, by Henry Vernon Crock, Masaaki Yamagishi, and Mary Carmel Crock, 77 pp, with illus, $45, New York, SpringerVerlag, 1986 Anaesthesia for the Non-Specialist, by David Komesaroff, 261 pp, with illus, $24.95, Baltimore, Wil liams & Wilkins, 1986 Pharmacology of Eating Disorders: Theoretical and Clinical Developments, edited by Michele O. Carruba and John E. Blundell, 192 pp, with illus, $33, New York, Raven Press, 1986 Brain Edema, edited by Yutaka Inaba, Igor Klatzo, and Maria Spatz, 682 pp, with illus, $110, New York, Springer-Verlag, 1985 Neuropeptides in Neurologic and Psychiatric Disease (Research Publications: Association for Re search in Nervous and Mental Disease, Vol 64), edited by Joseph B. Martin and Jack D. Barchas, 290 pp, with illus, $69.50, New York, Raven Press, 1986 Textbook of Genito-urinary Surgery (in 2 vols), edited by Hugh N. Whitfield and William F. Hendry, 1,396 pp, with illus, $208, New York, Churchill Living stone (distributed by Longman, White Plains, New York), 1985 Basic Mechanisms of the Epilepsies: Molecular and Cellular Approaches (Advances in Neurology, Vol 44), edited by Antonio V. Delgado-Escueta, Arthur A. Ward, Jr., Dixon M. Woodbury, and Roger J. Porter, 1,096 pp, with illus, $98.50, New York, Raven Press, 1986