Author Description

Since the first edition of this book of multiple choice questions supplementing Davidson's Principles and Practice of Medicine by Dr. P.R. Fleming was first published, medical knowledge has continued to grow at an exponential rate. MCQ companion books to medical textbooks remain both popular and useful methods of self-assessment for medical undergraduates and postgraduates, The aim of this book, like that of its predecessor, is to help students efficiently acquire the factual knowledge necessary for good medical practice. The questions have been arranged to correspond with the chapters of Davidson's Principles and Practice of medicine, 18th edition, and, in addition, annotated answers have been compiled to enhance the educational value of the book. The Principles and Technique: Multiple choice questions are widely used for examination purposes as a reliable and discriminatory test of factual knowledge, Lack of familiarity with the MCQ format may result in unexpected failure, although more usually failure is attributable to a lack of adequate reading and understanding of clinical medicine and the basic sciences. Familiarity with the technique of MCQ examinations is no substitute for the systematic study required ton achieve a thorough understanding of medicine. 1. Read each stem question and the five items carefully. The questions have been worded to avoid ambiguity and have not been designed to trick the unwary. Identify the items which you can answer 'True' or 'False' as appropriate. 2. Identify those items to which you do not know the answers. Do not guess the answer if you know the answers. Do not guess the subject matter. Record the answer 'Do Not Know' and move to the next item, 3. There will be items the answers to which you may feel confidence. After due consideration, record your answer, providing this is not a blind guess but informed and intuitive reasoning. 4. Concentrate on each stem and item in turn rather than passing quickly from question to question. It is easier to concentrate on the problem in hand than to juggle with several unrelated questions simultaneously. How to use this Book: Students preparing themselves for examinations are recommended to read the appropriate chapters of the textbooks and then to assess themselves using the MCQ technique described. Record your answers and your reasoning before checking the correct answer. Then medical textbook and read the relevant text for more detailed explanation.