This story was last edited Nov. 14, 2006 at 4:10
p.m.
by Carla Saavedra-Santiago
OU-COM students don’t have to
leaf through unwieldy textbooks for answers when their
preceptors hand them X-rays and ask, “What do you see?”
That’s because they should have
The Radiology Handbook: A
Pocket Guide to Medical Imaging,
the second book in the White Coat Pocket Guide Series, which was
specifically conceived as a quick reference guide to general
questions about radiology. The book’s author, Jeffrey
Benseler, D.O., who is board certified in diagnostic
radiology, sympathized with the difficulty medical students were
having trying to find a good introductory textbook to radiology.
So, with Dean Jack Brose, D.O., as his editor, Benseler,
an associate professor of radiology,
decided to write The Radiology Handbook.
“There are a lot of books for
interns and for those further along in their training, but there
aren’t that many for those who have had no experience in
radiology,” Benseler says.
The White Coat Pocket Guides are
meant to be practical guides to specific areas of medicine for
medical students, interns and residents. The first book in the
series The Guide to EKG Interpretation was authored by
Brose and is meant to be used by anyone who interprets
electrocardiograms (EKGs).
When writing the book,
Benseler’s main goal was to make it quick and easy to read while
communicating the very basics of radiology to students. To help
keep his handbook clear and concise, Benseler utilized the same
format that Brose used for the first book. To make the guides
more convenient, Brose thought that all of the books should be
more graphic based and pocket-sized, enabling students to carry
around the books in the pockets of their white coats.
“We wanted to keep words to a
minimum and maximize the images and examples in it,” says
Brose. If it’s two in the morning, a student shouldn’t be
expected just sit down and start reading as if it’s two in the
afternoon.
The
Radiology Handbook is divided into three parts. The first
part consists of ordering schemes, which are quick references to
what tests should be ordered under different scenarios. The
second part of the book explains “how things work and why they
work,” Benseler says. The third part is a self test about
information in the book.
“Students need to take several
board exams before they can become a licensed physician. The
third part of the book is meant to be a practice in preparation
for those exams,” Benseler says.
Although he is not planning on
writing another book in the series, Benseler wants to
collaborate with Brose to produce a CD or PDF. “X-ray
interpretation and EKG interpretation are fundamental skills for
medical students and residents. It would be extremely valuable
to pair these resources in one reference for them,” says Brose.
Two places you can find The Radiology Handbook: A
Pocket Guide to Medical Imaging are The Little Professor
Bookstore in Athens or
Amazon.com.
- 30 -
News for the week of Nov 6 – Nov 11
