Product Description

Building on the success and popularity of the first edition, Pocket Prescriber 2007-8 has been fully updated to incorporate new drugs, to remove drugs no longer on the market and to reflect recent changes in dosages and prescribing practice. It fills a niche by providing the most essential clinical pharmacology information that busy clinicians need at their fingertips - by focusing on the 500 key drugs that are most commonly prescribed, in an A to Z listing, the book avoids overwhelming the reader with information and remains user-friendly. Information provided includes dosages, indications, contraindications, side-effects and interactions.

An important section of the book deals with commonly-encountered prescribing problems, selection issues where there are many similar drugs to choose from (such as antibiotics and antihypertensives), and guidance on coping with a wide variety of emergency situations (such as anaphylaxis and overdoses).

Principally aimed at junior doctors, the book is also an invaluable and accessible revision aid for medical students.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #223173 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

About the Author
Timothy R.J. Nicholson MBBS (London), BSc (London), MSc (Oxon), MRCP Psychiatry SHO, South London & Maudsley Hospital Training Rotation, London, UK The author has a background as an SHO in General Medicine (St George's hospital), Endocrinology and Cardiology (Hammersmith Hospital training scheme) & Neurology (National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Sq). He is currently a psychiatry SHO at the Maudsley Hospital, King's College where he aims to combine psychiatry with neurology in an academic and clinical career.

Customer Reviews

Essentials of BNF, practical prescribing and pharmacology in 224 pages
Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? Especially when I also tell you that it's 14.5x10.5cm and, unlike most pocket books, really will fit in a reasonably sized back pocket.

My only regret with regard to this book is that I didn't discover it sooner. I'm in the middle of medical finals and bought a copy about a month ago. It's been an absolute godsend, and no doubt will come even more into its own as I start junior doctoring.

It's very easy to look up drugs as they're alphabetically ordered (and include almost all of the most commonly prescribed medicines in use.) On one, at-a-glance page, each drug's entry contains all the most important info about indications, routes, doses, contraindications/cautions, side effects (common and serious), what to warn the patient about and key interactions, plus various practical words of wisdom. No more laboriously flicking through 4 sections of the BNF to retrieve the same information along with more detail than you require. That's not to say it replaces the BNF; rather, it's complementary in the sense that it alerts you as to when you'll have to consult the more comprehensive volume or, indeed, other sources.

That main section would, of itself, be worth far more than the price of admission. But there's more. A 22 page Drug Selection section gives insightful, practical, real-world-ready advice on such topics as empirical antibiotic prescribing, antiemesis, palliative care and subcutaneous pumps (with good level of detail) and alcohol withdrawal, plus a couple of common chronic conditions such as hypertension and asthma. My one complaint would be that the analgesia section could use some beefing up, but otherwise this is excellent.

Following this is an absolutely superb 16 page chapter on prescribing insulin, anticoagulants, thrombolysis and controlled drugs. Again, a wonderful combination of pharmacological information and practical nitty-gritty.

Then comes a 14 page section covering fluids, steroids, benzos and sedation, plus an excellent guide to interactions (incl CYP450) and side-effects of common drug classes, with enough pharmacological info to make it intelligible (nay, interesting!) There's even some of those nice mnemonics to make it stick.

Finally there's a 22 page chapter with excellent practical advice on managing the most common serious medical emergencies. (Speaking of which, the inside covers contain the BLS, ALS, anaphylaxis, tachy- and bradyarrhythmia protocols.) And at the end there's even a very useful section detailing the components of the AMT (complete with wonderful mnemonic - bring on my care of the elderly job!) and the MMSE, plus lab reference ranges.

My only major suggestion for improvement would be a section on laxative prescribing, something about which we've been taught very little, I must say, but which is of considerable everyday relevance.

In conclusion, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. From a medical student's point of view, it's never early enough to buy it, even prior to the clinical years. Junior (and perhaps even less junior) doctors will find it even more valuable. And excellent for nurses too I'd imagine.

The only caveat is that there's a new edition due to come out at the end of October 2009. That doesn't mean wait till then: it means buy the current edition now and put that date in your diary.

Great little book.
A pocket book that actually fits in your pocket! Really useful for the basics of prescribing for students, nurses and junior doctors. Highly recommended.

An essential part of the Junior Doctors kit
Pocket Prescriber is a superb and essential book for any Junior Doctor, and final year medic. It's 224 pages of everything you need to know about the most common drugs prescribed in Hospital and GPs, giving you an easy way to look up drugs and their main features, side effects, interactions and safe dosage regimes.

It's really small and easy to carry around with you, so you can quickly whip it out on a ward round or during busy times in A&E or MAU and quickly and safely prescribe common drugs. And it's really quick and easy to read, ordered A-Z by drug so you don't have to spend ages flickling back and fore through indexes and interaction sheets in the BNF. An essential buy!