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Not that it's necessarily any indication of quality - who knows what politics are involved in textbook success - but the Martini book is in its 7th Edition.

I couldn't figure out much about the backgrounds of those making comments on Amazon regarding the book, so I don't feel I can adequately evaluate said comments. Just trying to consider the source. That said, I'll give you my background and comment and you can make the call.

I am a 32 yr/o liberally educated male (BA English) who has completed the pre-nursing sequence and is currently enrolled in the 18D program. FWIW.

I had to first use the book whether I liked it or not for a two quarter ANP class taught by a university endocrinologist. The man was brilliant and I worked and learned tons. The Martini book is for a nursing level of ANP though, not a Med school one. In med school, Anatomy is one book, Physiology another. My friends who took a radically different career track and are either in or finishing their residencies have text books I drool over. One day when I'm rich enough, I'll buy them. One book in particular is Netter's Atlas of Human Anatomy, used last I heard at UNC Medical School (and others). Compared to these types of books, Martini's book will certainly come up short.

At the JSOMTC, the Med Fund instuctors base their lectures from the material presented in the Martini Fundamentals book and then issue the students the abridged version, the Essentials of ANP. I found that when I was taking the class, I had many questions the shorter book couldn't answer. Fortunately, the instructors (Mr. A, Mr. H, and Mr. G in particular) were more than happy to oblige me.

Here's the nuts and bolts. For better or worse, in the first 6 weeks or so (things change. . .) a new student will have every organ system covered, that organ system's pathology, major medical emergencies and their treatments, be introduced to approximately 100 or so drugs, Medication Administration of those drugs (basic algebra), and trained in medical examination, among other things. No matter how you look at it, it's just a lot of information to digest. Even after having my prior experience, I still studied a few hours each night and came in on the weekends to make sure I got it. I'm still working on it.

Any head start you get will be a good thing. How you get there is up to you. I had good success with Martini's Foundations. I believe because of the reasons specific to JSOMTC, it would be a good resource and a good gift.

Hope that helps. Good luck to your son.

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