250 short Cases in Clinical Medicine is a useful study guide, not necessarily for reading just before examinations, but rather during clinical rotations. Skills outlined in the book cannot be acquired in a crash course, but have to be accumulated slowly with increasing experience. As the title indicates, it is a collection of 250 cases, divided into nine major areas of specialty. It is supposed to represent the majority of situations likely to be encountered in clinical examinations. Each part begins with an introduction on the proper approach to examination of an organ system.
Cases start with the diagnosis, followed by the likely brief instruction by the examiner.
The candidate is given a list of what salient features he is expected to elicit, further tests or signs to look for, the diagnosis and the routine and advanced level questions likely to be asked in the examination setting. A list of references is given at the end of each case. The student may find it a helpful quick reference to check what he may have missed immediately after examining a patient. A candidate preparing for membership examinations can have a quick review of the cases and prepare himself mentally for the examination environment. The book is packed with clinical pearls that may be difficult to extract with the same clarity from standard textbooks.