Book excerpt: Significant changes in surgical training have occurred as a result of the recommendations published in the Calman Report. The period of surgical training is now shorter and has two distinct phases: first, basic training and then higher surgical training within a recognized surgical specialty, with an exit examination towards the end of the training period. These changes are reflected in the decision to initiate a radical revision in the presentation and format of the fourth edition of Essential Surgical Practics, including a division into two parts that reflects the above phases. This second volume caters for the needs of the senior trainee surgeon undertaking higher surgical training in general surgery, giving detailed information on those specialties about which the general surgeon is required to have a working knowledge with a special emphasis on gastrointestinal and vascular surgery. It is structured to be highly patient-oriented in line with current thought and practice, with a firm underpinning of pathophysiology. Essential Surgical Practice: Higher Surgical Training in General Surgery will be an indispensable source of reference for all surgical trainees and can be used with confidence in association with local studies and distance learning courses. The content is consistent with the scope and level of information required for international postgraduate examinations. A companion volume covers in detail the necessary material for Basic Surgical Training. Module-based, it emphasizes the management of patients with a variety of more common surgical disorders.