Via Medici Online, September 30, 2008

5 points from Saskia von Sanden, medical student in Freiburg

Brief Description

“Doc’s Coach” has filled a gap in the market. It is the first “picture book” designed to help students, clinical rotation students, and young resident physicians overcome their anxiety about their first time. In many short chapters featuring detailed photos, every clinical procedure is explained step by step—as precisely as necessary and as clearly as possible—from the perspective of the person performing it. Simple procedures, such as correctly measuring blood pressure, are covered alongside complex procedures (pleural tap, central venous catheter placement, dilation tracheotomy). The concept is modeled after “do-it-yourself” magazines: Anyone who wants to build a cabinet works their way through an illustrated guide, step by step.

Content/Target Audience

“Doc’s Coach” is suitable for students in the clinical phase (clinical rotations and clinical internship). However, it also contains useful chapters for resident physicians in their first one or two years of residency training who are working in the intensive care unit. From A for “Arterial indwelling cannula in the radial artery” to Z for “Central venous catheter placement via the internal jugular vein or the subclavian vein,” the book covers the entire spectrum of practical skills required in hospitals and clinics. I couldn’t find any gaps in the coverage.

I found it particularly helpful that common and typical mistakes in handling are also illustrated with photos—and, of course, heavily crossed out. It’s not uncommon to realize here that you’ve actually been doing it exactly that way all along.

Teaching Methods/Structure

A practical guide must be one thing above all else: simple from the perspective of the inexperienced person, who may not be familiar with every little procedure—step by step, in other words. Every procedure—aside from surgeries and specialized procedures—that an inexperienced person might encounter in a hospital is explained. For those who are at odds with infusion pumps or break into a panic when asked, “Would you like to perform the lumbar puncture on your own?”—should keep this book on their nightstand as bedtime reading or work with the hospital’s clinical rotation coordinator to ensure that a copy is available on every ward. Of course, you can’t work on a patient while holding this A4-sized book. But you should have it within reach before and after a procedure.

It takes between 5 and 15 minutes to read a practical guide—so it’s certainly possible to do a quick review before a “procedure.” But even reflecting on an operation that may not have gone well can still lead to many “aha” moments.

A DVD edition would also be desirable, one that could show all the steps in slow motion. This would be particularly useful for the individual chapters on sewing techniques.

Price

The book retails for 29.95 euros. Overall, books published by “didamed” are surprisingly affordable. Even the richly illustrated “Doc’s Coach” is priced lower than comparable books.

Conclusion

The ideal of “see one, do one, teach one” is rarely achieved—and perhaps only when an excellent teacher meets a thoroughly prepared student. Otherwise, the reality is more like this: watch once, fumble around several times, and immediately pass on that half-baked knowledge to someone who knows even less than you do. That’s why this book belongs on the shelf of every clinical student, final-year medical student, and young resident.