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Dr Podcast Scripts for the Final FRCA

Article in Anaesthesia June 2012
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2044.2012.07084.x

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2 authors:
Kariem El-Boghdadly

Desire Onwochei

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto

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Available from: Kariem El-Boghdadly

Retrieved on: 10 October 2016

Anaesthesia 2012, 67, 691693

a review of applicable basic sciences

and a synopsis of current reports and
guidelines. An appendix lists the
Primary and Final syllabus and
examination regulations.
Clinical Notes for the FRCA
stands out from its contemporaries
on the basis of its scope and succinctness; it covers the majority of the
Final FRCA syllabus but is still easily
portable. With its focus on clinical
anaesthesia, it will be most useful to
those studying for the Final FRCA. Its
layout is clear and engaging, with the
body of text broken up by headings,
diagrams, tables and boxes. The grey
boxes found throughout the text,
highlighting current guidelines and
key reports, are a particularly helpful
revision aid. Each chapter section
concludes with a list of key references
to relevant papers and core texts.
It is difcult to mention any
weaknesses in this book. As with any
that aims to cover current topics,
Clinical Notes for the FRCA will
require further updating. For example, due to its publication date the
March 2011 CMACE report has not
been included. I found the appendix
detailing the syllabus an unnecessary
addition; however, some may nd it
useful to help structure their revision. The books brevity may be
viewed by some as a aw, but I
found it an advantage: the author
highlights the areas that need to be
covered providing readers with both
a structure for their revision and
sufcient information about a vast
array of subjects, then directs further
reading around the topic.
I have found Clinical Notes for
the FRCA to be an excellent resource
for both assisting my revision and
highlighting gaps in my knowledge.
692

Book Reviews

Some colleagues have used it to help

direct their revision by annotating it
to create their own notes, whilst
others have used it further on in
their studies to ensure that they have
covered all of the key topics. Either
way, it has proved extremely useful
in the daunting task of revising for
the Final FRCA examination, and I
would thoroughly recommend it to
anyone in a similar position.
R. Monteiro
ST3 Specialist Registrar
Eastbourne District General Hospital
Eastbourne, UK
Email: roisinmonteiro@doctors.org.uk
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2044.2012.07099.x

Dr Podcast Scripts for the Final

FRCA
R. A. Leslie, E. K. Johnson, G. Thomas,
A. P. L. Goodwin (eds).
Cambridge University Press, 2011,
ISBN 978-1-107-40100-6, 498 pp.,
Price 37.00

Dr Podcast Scripts for the Final FRCA

is a useful companion to the Dr
Podcast Final FRCA audio material.
The book is written by a collection of
anaesthetists who have recently sat
the Final FRCA examination and it
has been extensively reviewed by a
panel of consultants. The text is
presented as a dialogue between
examiner and candidate, as one
would expect from a Structured Oral
Examination (SOE). It covers a wide
range of topics spanning the Final
FRCA syllabus in four broad sections:
medicine; surgery; emergency medicine and intensive care; and anatomy,
regional anaesthesia and pain.
The book can be used in conjunction with the audio podcasts or
as a stand-alone revision textbook.

The subjects are discussed in a

detailed, comprehensive manner that
at times may be extensive, but allows
readers to excel and recognise the
point at which they are performing
particularly well. It is well-tailored to
the Final SOE, but is also useful for
the written section of the examination. In particular, the anatomy,
regional anaesthesia and pain sections are concise and well written.
Furthermore, there is excellent use of
references with relevant literature
allowing candidates to expand further on their knowledge.
There are some errors within the
text, as well as conicting information at times, probably representing
the disparity within the literature.
Visual aids with more diagrams
would further complement the text.
Additionally, certain core topics are
absent, such as management of fractured neck of femur, a favourite of
both short answer questions and
SOEs.
Whilst the primary syllabus may
remain timeless, the content of the
Final FRCA examination is increasingly topical; therefore this book must
be supplemented with more up-todate knowledge of recent guidelines
and publications. Nevertheless, Dr
Podcast Scripts for the Final FRCA
lls a gap in the market for a muchneeded general revision textbook for
the Final FRCA examination.
K. El-Boghdadly
D. N. Onwochei
ST3s in Anaesthesia
South East School of Anaesthesia
London Deanery
London, UK
Email: elboghdadly@gmail.com
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2044.2012.07084.x

Anaesthesia 2012 The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland