11th Edition (Inkling eBook)

By Emad Qayed and Nikrad Shahnavaz

Price £50.39  https://www.uk.elsevierhealth.com/sleisenger-and-fordtrans-gastrointestinal-and-liver-disease-review-and-assessment-9780323636599.html

This book which is a review and assessment book is an obvious sister companion to the excellent textbook Sleisenger and Fordtran’s Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease which I have previously reviewed here https://www.glycosmedia.com/sleisenger-and-fordtrans-gastrointestinal-and-liver-disease-2/  Ideally you should have the textbook as the study and reference guide and use this book to test your knowledge.

I reviewed the digital version of this book which could be an advantage over paper as there are interactive features here which benefit from an electronic environment. I should add that the quiz questions are designed for American exams but that should not detract from using this resource as an additional method of improving your knowledge and learning. There is an impressive array of contributors from Atlanta, Georgia and it is worth reading the preface, as it does provide a good insight into the philosophy of the book.

The crux of the book is a clinical scenario with a patient history and there could be lab results or images as well and then a specific question is asked. A multiple choice answer is offered and one answer is correct. You can do as many questions as you like and write down your answers. The answers are at the end of the chapter and click on the section that says answers. It is that simple and the answer will be a short discussion with reference back to the main textbook of Sleisenger and Fordtran’s Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease.

In itself, this is good particularly for those who like this form of studying-they read a chapter in a textbook-in this case Sleisenger and Fordtran’s Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease and then test themselves by this method. Or it can be the other way round-do the quiz then read the relevant textbook section. These methods may not suit everyone but it is good way to learn for some.

However being a digital product, there are also available interactive assessments. This works in one of 2 ways at the beginning of the book, there is a global interactive assessment tool whilst there is also an interactive tool at the end of each chapter. You are given a scenario and then given feedback, after submission of an answer. It is very clever and again some people might find this useful. This would be harder to do in a paper book.

Having one book, in this case a digital format with an interactive offering which tries to further the learning provided by a sister publication is a noble and good idea. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it does for some, enhance the learning experience. You could also use it without the main textbook, Sleisenger and Fordtran’s Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease but I guess it helps having access to it. This kind of quiz book is not easy to produce and it must have taken a great deal of work to put this together and the authors deserve great credit for producing it. I don’t think it is expensive with what it offers and if used in conjunction with the main textbook, Sleisenger and Fordtran’s Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease, it does make a great learning tool for some people.

Dr Harry Brown October 2021