George Collins, University College London

If you are interested in buying a textbook about the speciality of Emergency Medicine, should you choose The Oxford Handbook or should you choose the Illustrated Colour Text? Well, although they have identical titles, and cover the same areas of Medicine, their approach to the topics is very different indeed. The books have different prices, different layouts, different styles of language and different target audiences. The Oxford Handbook of Emergency Medicine is much like the rest of the world famous series in that it is pricey, snappy, small in size and designed as a reference book. Unlike in the Illustrated Colour Text, the Oxford Handbook contains very few images, colours, tables or lists of key points. It is designed to sit on the desk in a busy Emergency Department and be referred to when a reminder of a piece of knowledge is required to assist in application of a certain practical skill, be it history taking, diagnosis, a procedure, communication skill etc.. On the other hand, the Illustrated Colour Text gives you the skills and knowledge to prepare you for life in the Emergency Department, and therefore, unlike the Oxford Handbook, it prepares you for your time in the Emergency Department in advance. It contains diagrams and photos of important skills and procedures and handy tid-bits of information such as pneumonics and flowchart algorithms that are all written and prepared so that the information can be studied and understood. Saying that, it’s also significantly cheaper that the Oxford Handbook! So, if you’d like to learn about what life is like on the Emergency Department, then the Illustrated Colour Text is for you. If, on the other hand, you’d like a detailed, succinct reference book to keep in your pocket, the Oxford Handbook is for you. As a Medical student at the moment, I’d prefer to buy the Oxford Handbook in a few years when I’m qualified, both because I will be able to afford it then, and because at that time I will be the target audience.

Posted 5th Aug 2011