Fast Track Surgery: Trauma, Orthopaedics and the ... - PasTest

CHAPTER 1: USING THIS BOOKThis book is a follow-on to Fast Track Surgery: General, Vascular, andUrology. It deals with the sub-specialist areas that you will touch uponduring your time on the wards. Time spent in trauma & orthopaedics ismuch less than that in general surgery, and that spent in the othersub-specialties is even considerably less than that! Many students infact view their time spent during these areas as a bit of a holiday andend up missing out on important clinical knowledge that wouldotherwise serve them well after graduation, only to lament later that theareas were never taught well while they were in medical school. Thetake-home message is this: your time in the sub-specialties is short butimportant, so make use of it; you’ll be glad you did later on in yourcareers (especially if you do an A&E job or go into General Practice!).The bulk of this book is geared towards Trauma & Orthopaedics, but thesub-specialties are each given their due. Only the most salient pointsand concepts are presented here, with focus being on the most-likelyto-be-askedquestions. You are encouraged to read deeper into topicsin standard textbooks and use this book as a study aid. By and large, asstudents, you are only expected to appreciate the basic concepts of thesub-specialties and have an idea of how to manage the commonpathologies and emergencies.As with Fast Track Surgery: General, Vascular and Urology, this book islaid out in a two-columned fashion to allow you to cover the answercolumn when revising. It leans heavily on mnemonics, tables andrelevant in-theatre anatomy. Investigations and the reasons they areordered are given, and management plans are laid out how you’dexpect to see them written in the notes. Carry it around with you andcram from it in your precious spare moments.PART I3