British Journal of Anaesthesia 92 (2): 299±300 (2004)

Book Reviews

Short Answer Questions in Anaesthesia, 2nd Edn. Simon Bricker

(editor). Published by Greenwich Medical Media Ltd, London.
Pp. 327; indexed. Price £29.50. ISBN 1-84110-088-9.
A candidate for the written part of the Final FRCA
examination will be only too familiar with multiple choice
questions. However, the ®rst hurdle is the short answer
question (SAQ) paper, which requires very different skills.
Most are fearful, unfamiliar with its format, and fail to reach
their potential. The overall standard of answers is rather weak.
Fortunately, the pass mark is relatively low. Some answers
from hopelessly unprepared candidates consist of just a couple
of scruffy lines. So any book that guides and encourages
preparation for the SAQ paper is most welcome.

Downloaded from http://bja.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of Ulster at Coleraine on June 14, 2015

This paperback starts with an introductory chapter which
explains the structure and marking system, gives excellent
practical advice on how to tackle the SAQ paper, and should be
compulsory reading. The meat of the book consists of 180 sample
questions and outline answers. Of these, 52 are on general
anaesthesia (as many as 25 about complications), and the
remainder on medical diseases (18), paediatrics (15), anatomy
and regional anaesthesia (15), intensive care (13), obstetrics (13),
pharmacology (12), neuroanaesthesia (9, mainly head injuries),
clinical measurement and equipment (9), trauma and emergencies
(9), cardiothoracic anaesthesia (6), chronic pain (6), and acute
pain (3). The questions cover a wide range of areas likely to
appear in the examination itself. Only a few topics of importance
were omitted, but I felt it was a pity to exclude sepsis, and
anaesthesia for eye surgery, fractured neck of femur, and fractured
jaw.
Each question and answer occupies one to one-and-a half pages
of packed text in the same format. A brief comment on the
question's context is followed by a model answer: a few
introductory lines intended to `engage the examiner's interest';
the answer proper, written in bulleted lists; and a concluding text
box headed `marking points', giving the most important aspects
for a pass. The answers follow a logical structure, which is the key
to success. The candidate needs to devise a suitable outline
structure within a minute of reading the question. In the oral
examination, of course, it is necessary to think even faster and (as
Dr Bricker points out in his preface), practice at these SAQ
questions will also help to order thoughts at the viva table. The
answers have more than enough detailÐde®nitely 2+ material!
They give a safe, majority view of the subject, welcomed by most
candidates and by all examiners. The existence of controversy is
sometimes acknowledged or implied (e.g. bleeding following
tonsillectomy, treatment of trigeminal neuralgia), but the more
inquisitive trainee may wish to go elsewhere.
In summary, this book will prove most worthwhile for those in
the later stages of preparation for Final FRCA, and essential for
those who need practice at structuring their answers. If used to
attempt four questions in an hour each evening, the book could
last 1.5 months. After passing, most anaesthetists would donate it
to a junior colleague, although anyone helping trainees prepare for
the Final FRCA would also ®nd it most valuable. At £29.50, just
4.9% of the current Final entry fee, it is unlikely to be an expense
regretted by any candidate.
N. J. H. Davies
Southampton, UK

DOI: 10.1093/bja/aeh510

Ó The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia 2004