Always the best!
The handbook keeps getting better and better, although there is no way I'll carry in in my lab coat pocket like the "good old days!"
Perfect for med students
I really liked how concise it is on the management of diverse pediatric pathologies, specially the algorithms. I am a med student and I found it very useful during my internship in pediatrics, specially in the emergency department. The section with the drugs and all the tips about them (dosage, adverse effects, when not to use it, etc) are really helpful for med students who won't specialise in this area and who want to have a general knowledge on this subject.
It's very helpful for a review on the area, not as a book for the first study of this subject.
Doesn't come in with PDA software
My last version of Harriet Lane is from 2004 (blue cover). I wanted to get an updated copy since last year and held out until this year knowing that the new edition would be released in 2008. What a long wait. And when the book was finally released it DOES NOT contain a PDA version for my palm. This is ridiculous considering that the 2006 version is sold with PDA file. Instead you must purchase the PDA version separately. What a ripoff. I should have bought the earlier version.
The book however, does come with a code to access an online version of the text....something I hardly find useful and will never use.
useful summation
The editors at Johns Hopkins Hospital has compiled a comprehensive list of pertinent advice for those medical professionals treating children.
All the common drugs likely to be used on children are described in summary form, with advice about dosages and warnings. This section of the book could be used by nurses and doctors.
More specialised sections delve into cardiology and internal medicine. These sections are perhaps more the purview of doctors than nurses.
The book does not replace full textbooks on the various fields. But is a useful summation.
