Peter Davies, Imperial College, London

The best SBA and EMQ book on the market! I recently bought this Crash Course SBA and EMQ book and have to say it is the best revision book out there for medical students. True to life scenarios with excellent explanations for each question. Dr Sharma has to be congratulated on his efforts in producing this book. I advise all medical students up and down the UK to buy this book. Peter Imperial Medical Student

Posted 31st Dec 2009

Sarah Edwards, Peninsula Medical School

This is an excellent book. It has loads and loads of SBA and EMQs. It has been a part of my revision and has helped. It is in a convient size, so is useful for having around in clinics when your a little bored. Each question has a very good answers and importantly, why it isn't an answer.

Posted 30th Nov 2009

James Read, Peninsula Medical School

This is an excellent book for all medical students who have their examinations based on questions from the UMAP question bank (single best answer, multiple choice exams). The book is arranged in to sections based on medical and surgical specialties which makes this a useful revision aid for exams in any specialty as well as a great resource for quickly revising a topic before starting a new attachment. The answers in the back of the book give explanations as to why each specific answer is correct which helps to further your knowledge as well as to test it. The questions are also well phrased and written and so far I have found no questions which are ambiguous - something which is a major positive of this book over others which can have poorly worded, clumsy questions which only confuse the reader rather than helping them to test their knowledge and learn. All in all this is an excellent book for all medical students but especially those with multiple choice examinations and will help to take the stress out of revising for such examination. I would definitely recommend.

Posted 31st Oct 2009

Shah Ali, University of East Anglia

I wish I had this book last year for finals. This is the only book currently available that is based on the UMAP bank, so although great for all medical schools it is really useful for finals students from Birmingham, Cork, Hull, Keele, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Peninsula, Sheffield, Southampton, UEA, and Warwick, there is a strong possibility of more schools joining too. The book is based on the common MCQ and EMQ/EMI styles. The answers are concise and well explained, some of the best I have ever seen. As it is based and closely resembles UMAP questions I have sat, it is better than all the other revision books and websites before 2010. This is a brilliant evolution of the Crash Course series, which has gone from strength to strength. To give some advice, although it is a brilliant book it should ideally be used to ‘supplement’ revision in the final months before the exams and not as a crash course to the whole exam, that’s if you want to make sure you not only pass but are a good Foundation Doctor. The book is a must have on your wish-list if you do not already own it or have access to it. Good luck with your exams!

Posted 29th Oct 2009

Kayte McCann, University of East Anglia

This book is a brilliant addition for any UEA medic's revision hoard, as it compiles a massive selection of mock exam questions in a style which is used by many medical schools (including UEA). The only fault (admittedly minor) is that I can't seem to find an Obs and Gynae section in the book, something which it would have benefitted from. Otherwise an absolutely amazing book, and one which I will be sleeping over in the run up to exams...

Posted 28th Oct 2009

Dominic Haigh, University of Birmingham

At the beginning of the medical career, there is still a lot of learning to do. Undergraduate medical education prepares one for one's first job as a doctor. The foundation years are designed to prepare doctors for specialty training. Being in your first year as a doctor could well be seen as a weakness. You will have less clinical experience than other doctors and you will not yet have sat any post-graduate exams. However, having just completed your medical finals means you will remember best exactly how they were, and what helped study for this. It is clear Dr Neel Sharma was in this situation when he authored this book. In 2003, a network of UK medical schools launched the Universities Medical Assessment Partnership. This established a common bank of questions that are used by 14 different medical school. These are reviewed regularly by a board of clinicians and academics, to ensure they are accurate and up-to-date. This means that the medical schools will more consistently be testing knowledge relevant to foundation year jobs, it also means that questions for finals are more predicable, so it is easier to focus revision. When revising, it's really easy to read over a chapter, take notes and decide that you know it. This theory will only then be tested when the student comes to the definitive examination. This isn't an ideal situation to be in. Self-Assessment in Medicine and Surgery is designed to be used in conjunction with a combination of your own revision material: textbooks, your own notes, your friends, or any other revision methods you happen to use. This text isn't designed to be used as primary revision material. Learning the questions first is a back-to-front approach, it makes sense to take to revision as a scientific question. Consider the theory: I am prepared to pass this exam. This is a testable hypothesis. Undertake the required amount of preparation for the subject area to be tested on then go through the questions. Don't stop after each one to mark it, this is less like real exam conditions. It's also possible you may consciously or subconsciously see the answers to other questions, which may jeopardise the utility of your revision. Learning is to some extent context-dependent, so it is good to imitate exam conditions. Sit at a desk, and time yourself to have the same number of questions per unit time as the actual examination. At the end of the questions you elected to do, go through the answers. Don't just at what the answers were, it's worth taking time to work out why they were what they were, even with the ones you answered correctly, as you may have just been lucky. Having scored yourself, you will have gone some way towards knowing just how prepared you really are, and therefore how much more work you have to do. So no longer when someone asks if you're prepared for the exam can you say, "I think so", now you reply, "The chances are: yes". Witness the introduction of evidence-based scales into revision: the scientific method always wins in the end.

Posted 22nd Sep 2009

Andrew Gough, University of Manchester

This book is an ideal choice for people wanting to practice questions in preparation for exams at universities in the Universities Medical Assessment Partnership (UMAP), including Manchester. Many of the questions resemble those of the Progress Test at Manchester and this book would be ideal for those who want to test their knowledge prior to exams - particularly because often there are so few sample questions available. There are of course many online resources which allow you to do practice exam questions - however this book offers the advantage that you can take it anywhere, and therefore practice questions anywhere! And also, the questions are very much tailored to UMAP exams and best of all - explanations for all the answers, making it great for revision as well as practice! And of course the book is yours to keep - no expiry dates on subscriptions etc!

Posted 17th Sep 2009

Latifa Patel, University of Liverpool

I give this book a BUYER RATING of 5/5 (Go buy it… NOW). Set in the typical Crash Course layout it is a gem to read. No illustrations but they're not really required. One downside - which I always mention, is that of having to flick from the front to the back. The answers are all at the back but I guess that saves trees. Content wise for a small book an ample amount is covered, however no Dermatology? Examiners love Dermatology! It is perfect for revision and should give you a sound idea of what to expect on the exam. My only hesitation is that you would probably need to look at more practice questions than those in this book and you may need to look elsewhere for a more detailed explanation of the answer. Hope that was useful. Enjoy, Latifa (",)

Posted 12th Sep 2009

Adam Moreton, University of Liverpool

Finally, a MCQ / EMQ book based upon the UMAP method of assessment (used by Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Hull York, Keele, Leeds, Newcastle, Peninsula, Queens, Sheffield, Southampton, UEA, and Warwick). Having just sat my finals (of which the majority of questions were from the UMAP bank), I see in this book questions that well reflect those making up the written exams. Its just a shame this book wasn't published until a month after I had sat my finals! A really good book which gives explanations for the correct answers. A perfect score for a must-buy book!

Posted 1st Sep 2009