Harrisons Principles of Internal Medicine Self-Assessment and Board Review (18th Edition)

Book Preface

This is the third edition of Harrison’s Self-Assessment and Board Review that we have had the honor of working on. We thank the editors of the 18th edition of Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine for their continued confidence in our ability to produce a worthwhile companion to their exceptional textbook. It is truly inspirational to remind ourselves why we love medicine broadly, and internal medicine specifically.

The care of patients is a privilege. As physicians, we owe it to our patients to be intelligent, contemporary, and curious. Continuing education takes many forms; many of us enjoy the intellectual stimulation and active learning challenge of the question-answer format. It is in that spirit that we offer the 18th edition of the Self-Assessment and Board Review to students, housestaff, and practitioners. We hope that from it you will learn, read, investigate, and question. The questions and answers are particularly conducive to collaboration and discussion with colleagues. This edition contains over 1100 questions that, whenever possible, utilize realistic patient scenarios including radiographic or pathologic images. Similarly, our answers attempt to explain the correct or best choice, often supported with figures from the 18th edition of Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine to stimulate learning.

All of the authors have physically left the Osler Medical Service at Johns Hopkins Hospital. However, our experiences with colleagues and patients at Hopkins have defined our professional lives. In the words of William Osler, “We are here to add what we can to life, not to get what we can from life.” We hope this addition to your life stimulates your mind, challenges your thinking, and translates to your patients.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the loving support of our families, for which we are truly thankful. They were patient and encouraging as we transformed (often not quietly) a mountain of page proofs into this book.