Reviewer: Benjamin A Willenbring, MD (Regions Hospital)
Description: This is the 10th edition of a core textbook in emergency medicine spanning nearly 40 years of updates. The ninth edition was published in 2017. This is a two-volume set meant to serve as a thorough and complete reference text for the practice of emergency medicine. It includes an "Enhanced Digital Version," which includes a digital version of the textbook, additional chapters not contained in the printed text, high-resolution images, and an assortment of (largely ultrasound) videos.
Purpose: According to the book, the purpose of this desktop reference is to serve as an educational text covering the breadth of emergency medicine by offering "scientifically based and clinically sound information to provide reasonable and reliable clinical guidance ... through the lenses of [the authors'] own knowledge, years of clinical experience, teaching of others, and the study of the adverse clinical outcomes and human and system error." In practical terms, this book aims to give the best possible advice, acknowledging the variability of physiology and pathophysiology, on as many topics as possible within the scope of emergency medicine. It is a worthy and lofty goal tasked by a team of editors and authors who comprise an array of experienced and respected authorities in the world of emergency medicine.
Audience: The intended audience for this book is eclectic, including anyone who treats patients with acute illness or injury, such as physicians, physician residents, medical students, physician assistants (PAs) and PA students, nurse practitioners (NPs) and NP students, pharmacists, EMS personnel, and more. The editors and authors are credible authorities on the subject matter and the book is a worthwhile resource in many settings.
Features: This book discusses fundamental emergency medicine concepts; the care of patients with trauma, medical disease, and environmental/toxicologic illness; and discussions on special populations/topics. There are 16 supplemental chapters available online, but not in print. As the book was being written during the COVID-19 pandemic, it also includes a chapter on coronaviruses in general (SARS, MERS, and COVID-19) with special attention to COVID-19. The images contained in the book are high quality and there are many examples of useful tables, diagrams, figures, and photographs. Many of the chapter authors are literally the preeminent authorities on the topic. The first such example, numerically by chapter, is chapter 1, written by Drs. Calvin Brown and Ron Walls.
Assessment: This book continues to serve as the most essential "general" emergency medicine textbook, leveraging highly respected, experienced, and well-published authorities within the field. There are at least two other textbooks of similar ilk, each with their own strengths. In my opinion, Rosen's is the most comprehensive and is deserving of its reputation. This edition represents a valuable, though not critical, update to the ninth edition.
Doody's Core Titles® 2022
"This book continues to serve as the most essential "general" emergency medicine textbook, leveraging highly respected, experienced, and well-published authorities within the field."
©Doody’s Review Service, 2022, Benjamin A Willenbring, MD (Regions Hospital)