Bnf

Hey

was wondering how much it is used in undergrad medicine? is it an important book at undergrad level?

thanks

I can't speak for all years, but if you're asking if you should buy it for med school... no. In hospitals they are everywhere and my med school had a certain number they gave out for free. If I wanna look up something in the BNF, I just look at the online one: http://bnf.org/bnf/bnf/current/

For earlier years its definately no, and I'm pretty sire a new one comes out every year or something, so its pointless getting until qualified, if not in your clinical years.

Reply 2

CAPTAIN101

krisblade

I can't speak for all years, but if you're asking if you should buy it for med school... no. In hospitals they are everywhere and my med school had a certain number they gave out for free. If I wanna look up something in the BNF, I just look at the online one: http://bnf.org/bnf/bnf/current/

For earlier years its definitely no, and I'm pretty sire a new one comes out every year or something, so its pointless getting until qualified, if not in your clinical years.

thanks

- i wasnt thinking of buying one, just was looking at my cousin's and it looks like a scary book! so much detail and so many drugs lol

Reply 3

Renal

I use it several times every single day.

Barely touched it when I was a student. It tells you dosing and interaction information, not method of action, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics or useful things like that.

I did get hold of one for prescribing exams in finals though.

Reply 4

krisblade

CAPTAIN101

thanks

- i wasnt thinking of buying one, just was looking at my cousin's and it looks like a scary book! so much detail and so many drugs lol

Aha, its not that bad. I remember seeing one on work experience and just being like WTF. It's just basically a list of drugs with their side effects and dosing information. You're not expected to "know" all of it off by heart, that's why they make it into a book. Most doctors reference it regularly, especially for less common drugs.

Once you get vaguely used to drug names, it doesn't look as scary anymore.

Reply 5

Renal

CAPTAIN101

thanks

- i wasnt thinking of buying one, just was looking at my cousin's and it looks like a scary book! so much detail and so many drugs lol

But when you actually use it, you look at three lines - index, dose, interactions.

Reply 6

Carpediemxx

At bristol we get given one in 3rd year and again in 5th year.
pre clinical its not nessesary...clinical i find i use it fairly oftn to look up drugs i see during the day. Pharmacology is a bitch pre clinical cos its just alot of memory....when u do clinical work u see the same drugs over and over and you get used to what they do and the dosage used just by repetition...really useful.

Reply 7

graemematt

Agree with above. In preclinical I didnt even really know what it was, then on day one of clinicals I got my shiny copy of the BNF and have used it for dosage calculations, writing up patient cases etc etc...very handy book! But dont buy it until you start clinicals...infact, probably dont buy it at all, there's loads on the wards and probably in your hospital library.

Reply 8

fairycakes

even if your medical school don't give it out to you, just go to the pharmacy in the hospital and ask for a free copy. they usually have spare copy of one published within the last year or so, cos they update so frequently!

Reply 9

digitalis

It's dead useful but I use the online one way more than the paper version.

BL are introducing pharmacy teaching in third year now (being phased in by the firms) and we are doing trial prescribing exams which have been extremely useful (drug interactions, sliding scales, warfarin dosing etc etc).

Reply 10

Phalanges

It's interesting that one of the related threads to this is called "So what do theists think of this Youtube video...?". Almost as if TSR are suggesting that the BNF is the medics bible. :holmes:

Reply 11

Subcutaneous

CAPTAIN101

Hey

was wondering how much it is used in undergrad medicine? is it an important book at undergrad level?

thanks

Well I'm a student nurse, and today used it around 10-12 times today, so i'd expect the medics would use it a hell of a lot more! I probably use it in most of my assignments too!

Your uni should have acsess to the online version, and as for the book, well I managed to get september 2009 from a drug rep.