Bakerman's ABC's of Interpretive Laboratory Data

I am a 4th year medical student who will be a pathology resident starting in July. I picked up this book for my internal medicine rotation with the knowledge that it would also be useful in my clinical pathology rotations (I hope!). This book was invaluable during my month as a subintern on medicine. Not only could I interpret all of the lab tests that my patients had, I was able to look like a superstar by knowing both the correct test to order and what result I was looking for. This second part really helps you shine on a medicine rotation, because the first thing an attending will ask when you say "I want to order a morning cortisol" is "what result are you expecting." The book is organized alphabetically to help you quickly find any test you need. The only issue is that this book is almost 10 years old so I hope a new edition is planned soon to take advantage of newer tests that have come out. In any case, I would strongly recommend this for anyone who has to do time on the floors, whether it is for medicine, surgery, or even peds :)

Absolutely love this compendium of labs. Not only does it explain the laboratory technique, but also the significance of the data and background disease information. For the learner, this can really put into perspective many diseases processes for which we learn by rote memorization certain facts and details. I really, really wish there was a more up-to-date edition (eg. updated breast cancer markers, etc.) but some of this stuff will never change and is invaluable. Highly recommended.

One of my attendings had an early edition of this book from the 80s, and I loved how it was organized. If you're a med student or resident and would like a quick guide that offers detailed explanations of the labs you order along with tables, charts, brief pathophysiology and differential of abnormal results in one text that fits in your lab coat, this is a great choice. I wish they had an E-book for my iPad.

like most-everything was complete, all pages present like least-some notations by previous owner, but not bothersome

I had a 2nd edition of this book and always found it to be an interesting read... I would always read it and drag up bits of knowledge that had been long forgotten I work as an emerg physician only and every so often I go to this book to solve a real puzzle with a patient. I needed this book because someone else liked it so much they took it! Great resource

This book is a must have for medical lab techs. This is such a handy tool and has helped me as a student as well as in my career as a lab tech. Perfect!

Great reference for laboratory workers. I like the format for how the information is written for each test. My only complaint is that the print is TINY.

Great reference. I have two copies one for reach job I work.