Prof. Dr. Iftikhar has answered questions that all of us have thought of but never asked. How does one transition from being a medical student to a resident. One fine day you are supposed to write histories that will initiate patient management, prescribe medication that will be given to patients, order investigations that will be carried out, ask from help from other consultants, interact with patients and their families and tell them good, or even more significantly, bad news. Most residents are woefully unprepared and suffer anxiety as they gradually learn from trial-and-error or from surreptitiously watching their seniors how to navigate real-life on the ward floor.

If the first edition was essential reading, the second edition is even more so.  With additional chapters it takes the mystery of how to write a daily progress, a pass an i.v line, ask for an expert opinion or a consult, communicate effectively, break bad news, accept or refuse a gift brought by the patient as a token of gratitude or an effort to get more than what is warranted and almost any other situation that a doctor is likely to encounter.

This small book should be carried around, and referred to till the reader knows everything in it. It should be read by medical students at the start of their clinical year and then again at the start of their residency and over and over. The reader will find new gems of wisdom every time they read this, regardless of their age and experience.

Published by Paramount Books for a retail price of Rs.645/- this book is available wherever medical books are sold.