Marburger Bund Zeitung, Oct. 11 2013
Practical Guide—An Illustration for Every Procedure: *
* by Doc’s Coch and M. Hofer, 5th expanded and updated edition, 2013, 248 pp., Didamed, €39.90
Düsseldorf (press release). The teaching of practical skills is often neglected in the education and training of the next generation of medical professionals. As a result, more and more universities are establishing “skills labs” where students can practice key skills on models and in real-world settings. The new edition of Doc’s Coach is ideal as preparatory and supplementary reading for this purpose: Detailed series of illustrations clearly explain, step by step, the exact procedures for the 36 most important measurements (blood pressure, ECG, central venous pressure, peripheral blood gas analysis, wedge pressure, etc.) and puncture techniques (venipuncture, subcutaneous/intramuscular/intraosseous injections, arterial and venous indwelling catheters, pleural and cerebrospinal fluid puncture, central venous catheter and pulmonary artery catheter placement, etc.): Truly every hand movement is illustrated in a separate image from the perspective of the person performing the procedure—even common incorrect hand movements are depicted to help prevent errors.
More complex techniques (e.g., intubation, bone marrow aspiration, suturing and knotting techniques) are taught alongside the “basic” use of technical equipment (ranging from 3-way stopcocks to autoinjectors, perfusors, and bone marrow pumps), so that not only students but also intensive care/anesthesia and emergency medical technicians, as well as physicians in their first years of specialty training, can benefit. As a result, the book has already seen 17 special editions published for hospital groups and universities in just five years.
The 5th edition complies with the current WHO hygiene guidelines, RKI guidelines, and the guidelines of the relevant professional associations. The book appears to fill a gap: A survey of physicians published in 2006, conducted at the time of their board certification exams, showed that, in retrospect, specialists viewed the teaching of the practical skills described as lacking.