pp. 1–66) covers the non-clinical side of being a junior doctor:Welcome to the 5th edition of the Oxford Handbook for the Foundation Programme—the ultimate FP doctor’s survival book. It is set out differently from other books; please take 2 minutes to read how it works:
Being a doctor ( pp. 1–66) covers the non-clinical side of being a junior doctor:
• The FP ( pp. 2–3) how to get a place, what it’s all about, the ePortfolio
• Starting as an F1 ( p. 12) essential kit, efficiency, being organized
• Communication ( pp. 20–21) breaking bad news, translators, languages
• Quality and ethics ( pp. 27) confidentiality, consent, capacity
• When things go wrong ( p. 32) errors, incident forms, hating your job
• Boring but important stuff ( pp. 38–39) NHS structure, money, benefits
• Your career ( p. 45) exams, CVs, getting ST posts, audits, research.
Life on the wards ( pp. 67–123) is the definitive guide to ward jobs; it includes advice on ward rounds, being on-call, night shifts, making referrals, and writing in the notes. A section on common forms includes TTOs and ‘fit’ notes. There’s an important section on death—covering attitudes, palliative care, certifying, death certificates, and cremation forms as well as new material on the structure of the NHS. Ward dilemmas including nutrition, pain, death, and aggression are covered in detail, along with a section designed to help surgical juniors pick their way through the hazards of the operating theatre and manage their patients perioperatively.
History and examination ( pp. 125–167) covers these old medical school favourites, from a ‘real-world’ perspective, to help you rapidly identify pathology and integrate your findings into a diagnosis.
Prescribing ( pp. 169–182) and Pharmacopoeia ( pp. 169–182) cover how to prescribe, best practice, complex patients, interactions, and specific groups of drugs; commonly prescribed drugs are described in detail, with indications, contraindications, side effects, and dosing advice.
Clinical chapters ( pp. 225–244) These chapters cover common clinical and ward cover problems. They are described by symptoms because you are called to see a breathless patient, not someone having a PE:
• Emergencies The inside front cover of this handbook has a list of emergencies according to symptom (cardiac arrest, chest pain, seizures) with page references. These pages give step-by-step instructions to help you resuscitate and stabilize an acutely ill patient whilst waiting for senior help to arrive
• Symptoms The clinical pages are arranged by symptom; causes are shown for each symptom, along with what to ask and look for, relevant investigations, and a table showing the distinguishing features of each disease. Relevant diseases are described in the pages following each symptom
• Diseases If you know the disease you can look it up in the index to find the symptoms, signs, results, and correct management.
Procedures ( pp. 523–577) contains instructions on how to perform specific procedures, along with the equipment needed and contraindications.
Interpreting results ( pp. 579–611) provides a guide to understanding investigations including common patterns, the important features to note, and possible causes of abnormalities.
Appendices ( pp. 613–627) are several pages of useful information including contact numbers, growth charts, unit conversion charts, driving regulations, blank timetables, and telephone number lists.