The resident's job is as challenging as it is critical to patient care, and perhaps no specialty is as daunting to the beginning clinician as psychiatry. This book is designed to provide the tools residents need to quickly assess and competently treat patients with psychiatric illnesses and those with secondary psychiatric symptoms. Though comprehensive, the guide is also concise, compact, and practical. Differential diagnosis is made easier with the inclusion of diagnostic evaluation checklists and DSM-IV-TR criteria, and treatment interventions are described in detail, with accompanying drug dosage tables and comparison charts. The book begins -- just as the doctor-patient interaction commences -- with the assessment interview. Subsequent chapters focus on the classes of mental illness, such as anxiety disorders, personality disorders, and psychotic disorders. In each chapter, Dr. Lauren B. Marangell, lead author of Concise Guide to Psychopharmacology and an expert on the psychopharmacology of mood disorders, succeeds in distilling the most current and essential diagnostic and treatment information residents need to maintain a high quality of care. The book's many features maximize convenience while achieving full coverage: Both the entire volume and individual chapters are structured logically to lead the resident smoothly from assessment to treatment, without oversimplifying or sacrificing patient care. A wealth of easy-to-read tables, charts, and checklists focuses reader attention on the most important material, ensuring accuracy and making information retrieval easier. Much of the material is presented using bullet points for quick recognition to accommodate busy residents. In addition to chapters on central topics such as mood disorders and dementia, chapters on consultation-liaison psychiatry, emergency psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, and electroconvulsive therapy and device-based treatments are included. Welcome features include a comprehensive list of commonly used acronyms, as well as a listing of generic and trade/brand names for frequently prescribed medications. This one-stop resource belongs in the pockets or on the desks of every resident and beginning clinician. Both authoritative and reader-friendly, Resident's Guide to Clinical Psychiatry will improve decision making, save time, and make the resident's high-stress job significantly easier.
