In this fourth edition, Ron Smith has compiled the foundational information needed to assess literature and think as a clinician and clinician scientist. Using recent literature examples, foundational concepts relating to the diagnosis and management of individual patients and populations are clearly explained. Without getting lost in the math, the rationale for clinical test selection and design, selecting prognostic indicators, and assessment of treatment protocols for individuals and populations are outlined. Through this work, the author provides a solid foundation for an evidence-based approach to generating and consuming clinically relevant information.
- Dr Paul D. Pion, DVM, DipACVIM (Cardiology), president and co-founder of the Veterinary Information Network (VIN)
Ronald Smith’s clear and direct style is easy to read for students, and his layout by epidemiological concept provides a good framework for teaching veterinary students.
- Professor Scott Wells, Professor of Veterinary Population Medicine, University of Minnesota
With its relatively short length and well-organized table of contents, this is a great reference for practicing veterinarians or veterinary students.
- William E Sander, DVM, MPH, BA(University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine), Doody's Review - Four star, 93
In this fourth edition, Ron Smith has compiled the foundational information needed to assess literature and think as a clinician and clinician scientist. Using recent literature examples, foundational concepts relating to the diagnosis and management of individual patients and populations are clearly explained. Without getting lost in the math, the rationale for clinical test selection and design, selecting prognostic indicators, and assessment of treatment protocols for individuals and populations are outlined. Through this work, the author provides a solid foundation for an evidence-based approach to generating and consuming clinically relevant information.
- Dr Paul D. Pion, DVM, DipACVIM (Cardiology), president and co-founder of the Veterinary Information Network (VIN)
Ronald Smith’s clear and direct style is easy to read for students, and his layout by epidemiological concept provides a good framework for teaching veterinary students.
- Professor Scott Wells, Professor of Veterinary Population Medicine, University of Minnesota
With its relatively short length and well-organized table of contents, this is a great reference for practicing veterinarians or veterinary students.
- William E Sander, DVM, MPH, BA(University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine), Doody's Review - Four star, 93
Reviewer: William E Sander, DVM, MPH, BA (University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine)
Description: This fourth edition comes 15 years after the third edition in 2005. It provides many updated examples from the literature, both domestically and abroad, and organizes its table of contents in a framework for a veterinary practitioner. The examples and follow-up questions provide an active learning format for students and clinicians early in their careers. The concrete examples also help ground the epidemiological concepts discussed throughout the book. Specific clinical problems a practitioner may have questions about from an epidemiology standpoint are easy to access.
Purpose: The purpose is to serve as a clinical epidemiology reference for veterinary students, residents, and early-career practitioners. It enhances the existing literature as a concise, easy-to-use guide that follows the standard thought process of veterinary clinicians.
Audience: The audience is veterinary students, residents, and early-career general practitioners who have an interest in some research. The author targets the intended audience well with a refresher of the epidemiology training taught in veterinary school and a strong clinical slant. He is skilled in doing so as an emeritus professor of epidemiology at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine.
Features: The author does a good job of capturing many of the trouble spots practitioners encounter when clinical practice overlaps with epidemiology, focusing especially on diagnostic tests and prevalence of disease. While some chapters delve deeper into the theory of epidemiology, the overall focus is on applied epidemiology, pulling relevant case examples from the literature to demonstrate the principles discussed. The glossary is particularly well done, while the formatting of each chapter (bolding, colors, etc.) is sometimes distracting, making it difficult for readers to hone in on the information. Although the diagnostic tests are presented well, more discussion is needed on the development of new equations for standardizing or correcting diagnostic tests as this would prove useful for residents defining new approaches.
Assessment: This book is quite useful for veterinarians and is a marked improvement from previous editions by the same author. With its relatively short length and well-organized table of contents, this is a great reference for practicing veterinarians or veterinary students.