Official Review: Medical Investigation 101

Post by **kandscreeley** » 20 Apr 2018, 15:04

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Medical Investigation 101" by Dr. Russ Hill and Dr. Richard Griffith.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Imagine you are in high school. You are trying to figure out what to do with your life. You think you may want a career in medicine, but you just aren't sure. What should you do? Perhaps you could volunteer as a candy striper at a local hospital. You also may want to pick up the book Medical Investigation 101 by Dr. Russ Hill and Dr. Richard Griffith with illustrations by Raella Hill.

In this book the reader is introduced to many topics such as how the lungs and brain work. Information is then given on various diseases of those organs and how a physician might treat those diseases. To further involve the reader, the authors give case studies. In these case studies, you can pretend to be the treating physician; this way you can diagnose the patient along with the authors. At the end of the book, the authors hope that you have enough information to know better whether the health care profession is for you.

I absolutely love the idea behind this book. I have always been interested in medicine; and, at one point in my life, considered a career in the health care field. This book would have helped me to better know if this is something that I would not only enjoy but excel at as well.

There is quite a bit of information contained in the book from various specialists to organs to diseases. This has the potential to be overwhelming to some. There are, also, opportunities for further study. On several occasions, the authors invite the reader to look something up or even explore a certain website. Some teenagers would love the opportunity for extra study. Some may not (but perhaps those that wouldn't might be best suited to a different field of study.)

There were also various illustrations used to help the reader understand the various parts of the body better. Rather than the illustrations being "textbook" in that they were realistic, the illustrations were hand-drawn. This seems more appropriate to a younger audience than the teenagers that the book is aiming for.

In addition to the "dumbing down" of the illustrations, I had an issue with the editing and formatting of this book. While none of the errors were egregious, there were too many to say that this book had been professionally edited. Also, the book uses quite a few charts in the case studies sections. These charts were small even when viewed on a computer monitor. When I tried to read the book on my phone, they were illegible. And there was no way to make them bigger. I believe this to be a pretty big error considering most teenagers will probably read this book on their Kindle or smartphone.

In all, this is a fantastic idea for students who think they might be interested in medicine. Due to the errors in editing and formatting, though, I couldn't rate Medical Investigation 101 any higher than 3 out of 4 stars. While some of the exercises and vocabulary in this book are a bit challenging, I believe they are appropriate for those considering becoming a health care professional. It is to those (and parents of such) that I would recommend this book.

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Medical Investigation 101
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cpru68 · Post by **cpru68** » 22 Apr 2018, 00:00

This book sounds so unique for those who want to go into the medical field. To make the subject a little more reader friendly and understandable would only draw in interested parties all the more. But, as you stated, those errors need fixing especially if this book is aimed for educational purposes. I enjoyed your review. Sounds like a great book for budding medical students.

Sahani Nimandra · Post by **Sahani Nimandra** » 22 Apr 2018, 00:19

Sounds interesting to know about the brain and how it works. However, subject matter books are not for me. Thank you for your detailed review!

stacie k · Post by **stacie k** » 22 Apr 2018, 00:58

Very few high school students actually know what they want to do with their lives. This book would be a great tool to help them explore whether or not the medical field is a good fit for them. I agree with your comment about the illustrations not matching the target audience. I can see that even in the cover. Thanks for another great review!

Post by **Kibet Hillary** » 22 Apr 2018, 07:30

Wow, nice work done here. Never knew such a book existed. The good thing that is peculiar and that I like about it is the part of giving the reader an assignment. Potential Medical students should read this.

Post by **kandscreeley** » 22 Apr 2018, 08:10

cpru68 wrote: ↑22 Apr 2018, 00:00 This book sounds so unique for those who want to go into the medical field. To make the subject a little more reader friendly and understandable would only draw in interested parties all the more. But, as you stated, those errors need fixing especially if this book is aimed for educational purposes. I enjoyed your review. Sounds like a great book for budding medical students.

You're right. I would have loved this book when I was in high school. The assignments would have been right up my alley. Thanks for commenting!

Post by **kandscreeley** » 22 Apr 2018, 08:11

Sahani Nimandra wrote: ↑22 Apr 2018, 00:19 Sounds interesting to know about the brain and how it works. However, subject matter books are not for me. Thank you for your detailed review!

I understand. This book is for a specific audience. Thanks for reading my review, though.

Post by **kandscreeley** » 22 Apr 2018, 08:12

stacie k wrote: ↑22 Apr 2018, 00:58 Very few high school students actually know what they want to do with their lives. This book would be a great tool to help them explore whether or not the medical field is a good fit for them. I agree with your comment about the illustrations not matching the target audience. I can see that even in the cover. Thanks for another great review!

Yes, the cover is indicative of the kind of illustrations inside the book. Thanks for commenting!

Post by **kandscreeley** » 22 Apr 2018, 08:13

Kibetious wrote: ↑22 Apr 2018, 07:30 Wow, nice work done here. Never knew such a book existed. The good thing that is peculiar and that I like about it is the part of giving the reader an assignment. Potential Medical students should read this.

Absolutely! Thanks for reading my review.

Christina Rose · Post by **Christina Rose** » 22 Apr 2018, 09:10

What a great book for students considering the medical field. It's not a field for everyone, and this could be a helpful deciding factor with insight into the course work. I hope the authors will consider further editing the book, and also using better formatting and age-appropriate illustrations. Thank you for the review. ☺

Post by **kandscreeley** » 22 Apr 2018, 09:14

Christina Rose wrote: ↑22 Apr 2018, 09:10 What a great book for students considering the medical field. It's not a field for everyone, and this could be a helpful deciding factor with insight into the course work. I hope the authors will consider further editing the book, and also using better formatting and age-appropriate illustrations. Thank you for the review. ☺

You should have seen me trying to read one of the charts on my phone. It was probably hilarious. But still, it has good content. Thanks for the comment!

Cristina Chifane · Post by **Cristina Chifane** » 22 Apr 2018, 11:39

One of my best high school teachers told my parents I would be the ideal candidate for medical school. I had other plans, though. I often find myself wondering what would have been if I had chosen that path. I am glad such a book exits. Although it is too late for me to do anything in the field, I still think I could enjoy reading it and learning new things considering you said it is reader-friendly.

Post by **kandscreeley** » 22 Apr 2018, 11:44

cristinaro wrote: ↑22 Apr 2018, 11:39 One of my best high school teachers told my parents I would be the ideal candidate for medical school. I had other plans, though. I often find myself wondering what would have been if I had chosen that path. I am glad such a book exits. Although it is too late for me to do anything in the field, I still think I could enjoy reading it and learning new things considering you said it is reader-friendly.

It's definitely interesting. I enjoyed the little case studies. It's always fun to look back and think how our lives would be different if... Thanks.

arpit2 · Post by **arpit2** » 22 Apr 2018, 15:15

good

kfwilson6 · Post by **kfwilson6** » 23 Apr 2018, 14:36

What an interesting concept. I'm glad you commented about the illustrations because just the cover art made me think this was for a younger audience. It is so hard to decide at that age what you want to do for your whole adult life. It's great that there is a tool, especially for such a hard subject matter. Pre-med is not an easy major and requires much commitment. If this book can help teens determine before declaring a major that they are or are not committed enough, it could save them wasted time and effort.