Book excerpt: The Unofficial Guide to Prescribing lays out the practical steps of how to assess, investigate and manage a patient, with a focus on what to prescribe and how to prescribe it. Its aim is to empower newly graduated junior doctors to excel at dealing with emergencies and handling complex prescribing scenarios. Prescribing errors cost healthcare systems millions annually, so early training in prescribing has become an urgent priority of medical education and now forms an essential part of teaching and assessment. The Unofficial Guide to Prescribing (from the same stable as The Unofficial Guide to Passing OSCEs) is a new book designed to address this requirement. It is written by junior doctors still close to the transition from theory to practice, overseen by a review panel of senior clinicians to ensure accuracy, and designed to help medical students practise and learn as much as possible about prescribing, in actual clinical scenarios, before they have to do it for real. Each scenario is presented as you would see it in the hospital setting and covers: - Initial step-by-step assessment of the patient: how to assess, assessment findings, and immediate management - Initial investigations - Initial management - Reassessment - Treatment - Handing over the patient - 'Prescribe' alerts throughout - Written-up drug charts - Blank drug charts for copying and practice