I have a high regard for authors. Especially authors of medical textbooks. My favorite is Arthur Guyton, beloved author of our physiology bible.
But these past weeks another author has been making me want to tear my hair out. (Exaggeration allowed, this is my weblog, after all.) And I can hardly believe it but I think he is the most revered author in this subject or rather his textbook is one of the most widely used in this subject worldwide for decades now. In fact when I was a second year medical student many years ago, he was the author of our textbook, of an earlier edition of course.
Anyway, what I am complaining about is the way the chapter on analgesics, antipyretics, anti-inflammatory and anti-gout drugs is written and organized. It is so incredibly disorganized! If you have a copy of the book I'm talking about check it out. Or don't bother. It'll give you a headache for sure.
Incredulous that a chapter in a medical textbook could be so badly written, I examined it closer. I noticed that the different chapters in the book were written by different authors, presumably the experts in each chapter's topics. And this particular chapter was written by Some Other Authors, not The good author/editor himself. Then I looked up the latest version of the textbook, a digital version, and compared it to my textbook, and I saw that the latest digital version has new authors for that chapter! It could only mean that some other people ahead of me noticed and complained about that terrible chapter thus prompting a rewrite by new writers. Well, thank you very much!
This means we have to get this newest and hopefully better written edition. Pharmacology is a supertoxic topic already, a well organized textbook would be a big help. Which also means that I have to stop writing here already and try to make heads and tails of the chapter on "Analgesic-antipyretic and antiinflammatory agents and drugs employed in the treatment of gout" for my lecture tomorrow. Arghh to the title.
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9 comments:
Sounds like a good opportunity to rewrite it ;-)
ay doms,
kutob ra ko ug panaway! ;-D
bitaw, usahay ang panaway kay lessons bya.
thanks for sharing, bisan wla ko know-how ani.
diay dunay tiger balm diri....pero mahal, tag 9.95 euro....
vicks pod.
wla efficascent.....or omega ....
mao uli gani ko or kinsa mouli, padal-anay, kana gyd dagko....lol
hasta akong familya diri, apil ug haplas bya....labi na ron tig-tugnaw na, uso na ang ubo-ubo ug panuhot or pamaol-----na pahaplas gyd lagi.
happy weekend..........
tulpok gihapon sa, bisan ginadili....lol
regards
yes, isn't guyton inspiring?
and harrison once said something that is quoted in the preface to the 16th edition nga nindot pod kaayo
i'll contribute something sa imo TBR doc ness! layo pa man deadline sa? hehe, been a bit busy these days, but, no, wala ko ga-work ngadto sa call center hehe
thanks!
Doc, this is the FIRST ever blog that I read reviewing a text book. Hahaha. Cool, sobra. ;) I thought I've read every type of blog already, di pa pala. :)
I would like to teach someday also. When I finish my short term plans. You inspire me more to teach when I read your 'prof' posts.
LOL, MerryCherry.
Ang lakas ng loob, ano. Sa Ingles, the nerve. When you're above 40 years old, somehow you get to be more daring in some things. ;p
Hahaha! You mean you're up 40 Doc Ness?
Seriously, I like Guyton's seemingly easy, "Physiology for dummies" like way of explaining things. Thats why I bought an old version of his Med Physiology book even in Pre Med.
Cguro, information and age caught up with him na. Thats why he has to relegate the tasks he himself has done so wonderfully before.
Yes, Doc Rem,
I'm past the stages of denial, anger and bargaining and have come to the acceptance stage!! hahaha. it is quite liberating to embrace the fact that in a few years I'll be 50 years old. So now I'm focusing on "growing old with grace." Hahaha. Grace, asan ka na? ;p
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