Saint-Frances Guide: Clinical Clerkship in Outpatient Medicine » (2nd Edition)

Written for third- and fourth-year medical students and interns, this practical pocket-sized manual provides up-to-date information that can be used while seeing patients in the examination room. The book is organized by chief complaint or problem, covers all problems commonly seen in an outpatient setting, and provides user-friendly information on differential diagnosis, history-taking, diagnostic tests, treatment, and patient management. The concise presentation is reinforced by mnemonics, "hot-keys", tables, figures, and algorithms.

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Reviewer:Vincent F Carr, DO, MSA, FACC, FACP(Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences)
Description:This book is a series of memory jogger summaries designed to help medical students get to the point when beginning their patient care experiences in internal medicine or family medicine outpatient rotations. It has one of the most complete lists of mnemonics I have ever come across. It also has a significant number of "Hot Keys," what previously were known as pearls.
Purpose:The authors present a situation in their preface that we all have experienced, that of wishing we had a current summary reference, promising ourselves to look up a topic and not having the time to do so. The authors propose this book could help. They have done a great job of making that 30-second reference a reality.
Audience:The book is targeted to house officers, medical students, nurse practitioners, and attending physicians as a teaching tool to build the confidence of those in the outpatient setting. The authors have exceeded their goal.
Features:This well organized book is divided into organ systems with specific complaints under each. In addition to the mnemonics and hot keys, most chapters include a differential diagnosis section, an approach to the patient, many useful/simple tables, and a section of follow-up and referral issues. This is a very practical way of organizing the information.
Assessment:This is an extremely useful book for medical students and anyone who works in the outpatient office and has the opportunity to see a wide variety of common and unusual complaints. It is small enough to be actually portable in a lab coat pocket and stays well focused on the outpatient versus the inpatient care of the patient. It is truly one of the better organized, practical books that does not attempt to include every known fact and stays on target.

GENERAL CARE OF THE AMBULATORY PATIENT: Approach to the Patient and Medical Decision Making / Preoperative Evaluation / Pain Management / Preventive Medicine
OPHTHALMOLOGY AND OTOLARYNGOLOGY: Urgent Eye Complaints / Hearing Loss / Otitis Media / Otitis Externa / Cerumen (Earwax) Impaction / Sinusitis / The Common Cold / Pharyngitis
CARDIOLOGY: Chest Pain / Syncope / Hypertension / Coronary Artery Disease / Congestive Heart Failure / Atrial Fibrillation / Heart Murmur / Endocarditis Prophylaxis / Lower Extremity Edema
PULMONOLOGY: Chronic Cough / Dyspnea / Asthma / Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease / Pulmonary Function Tests / Acute Bronchitis / Community-Acquired Pneumonia / Solitary Pulmonary Nodule / Sleep Apnea Syndrome
GASTROENTEROLOGY: Abdominal Pain / Diarrhea / Constipation / Heartburn and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease / Dyspepsia / Involunatary Weight Loss / Abnormal Liver Chemistry Tests
NEPHROLOGY AND UROLOGY: Renal Failure / Hematuria / Proteinuria and Nephrotic Syndrome / Dysuria / Scrotal Mass / Erectile Dysfunction / Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
GYNECOLOGY: Amenorrhea / Abnormal Uterine Bleeding / Pelvic Pain and Dysmenorrhea / Abnormal Vaginal Discharge / Urinary Incontinence / Contraception
ORTHOPEDICS AND RHEUMATOLOGY: Approach to Joint Aspiration and Joint Injections / Acute Ankle Pain / Acute Knee Pain / Shoulder Pain / Elbow Pain / Wrist and Hand Pain / Osteoarthritis (Degenerative Joint Disease) / Gout / Monoarticular Arthritis / Oligoarticular and Polyarticular Arthritis / Low Back Pain
NEUROLOGY: Headache / Vertigo / Transient Ischemic Attacks / Dementia / Polyneuropathy / Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Facial Nerve Palsy
HEMATOLOGY AND ONCOLOGY: Anemia / Polycythemia / Thrombocytopenia and Thrombocytosis / Leukocytosis / Bleeding Disorders / Lymphadenopathy
ENDOCRINOLOGY: Diabetes Mellitus / Hypothyroidism / Hyperthyroidism / Solitary Thyroid Nodule / Calcium Disorders / Osteoporosis
INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) / Tuberculosis / Approach to Fever
DERMATOLOGY: Approach to Skin Diseases / Pruritus / Palpable Purpura
PSYCHIATRY: Depression / Alcohol Abuse and Dependence / Psychosis