Mayo Clinic Medical Manual [ Active ]

PREFACE

The urge to write this book—and it was indeed an urge—arose because of two reasons. The first was the lack of a book that approached patient care from the viewpoint of on-call medical residents. New residents faced with admitting a sick patient in the middle of the night have three priorities: one, a working diagnosis; two, a management plan that will get the patient through the night; and three, deciding when to call for help from the attending physician. This on-call manual seeks to empower residents to reach a working diagnosis and to develop a short-term management plan using the clinical history, physical examination, and essential on-call investigations. The layout of the book allows the reader to look up signs, symptoms, and laboratory abnormalities; to develop a list of differential diagnoses; and to formulate a management plant. Residents were recruited to write all the chapters in conjunction with the attending staff.

In conclusion, this Manual intends to be a uniquely useful tool for young doctors. We hope we have been able to blend the simplicity and focus essential to the the neophyte with the knowledge and precision required by the expert.