Handbook editors Megan Tschudy, M.D., and Kristin Arcara, M.D.
The honor has been a monumental one, say Hopkins Children’s Chief Residents Kristin Arcara and Megan Tschudy. To the editors of the 19th edition of The Harriet Lane Handbook, which came out today, they are walking in the footsteps of giants.
“Those who have come before us have been leaders in their fields of pediatric medicine,” says Arcara of the many legendary “Harriet Laners” who have made the handbook the most trusted resource for generations of pediatric residents and practitioners around the world. “It is such a great privilege to have been part of its history.”
Published every three years since 1953 by residents in the Department of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins, the 2011 handbook is written by house staff for house staff as a reference for fast, accurate bedside consultation. The original version, developed as a pocket-sized “pearl book,” according to its first editor Henry Seidel, M.D., is today published in both print and online versions. The new online version offers additional comprehensive references, such as developmental charts, to help keep the print version pocket-sized.
“Online, you can see expanded content and pull up specifically the information that you need,” says Tschudy.
New to this edition, too, are a mental health section that includes information on ADHD and depression and a section on MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) with algorithms for how to treat it in children. Other additions include a chapter on palliative care, updated Pediatric Advanced Life Support guidelines and milestones for early literary development, “to support the growth and development of children’s minds as well,” the editors write, in their preface.
Senior pediatric residents, working with faculty advisors, wrote the books’ chapters. Tschudy stressed the importance of the chapter author role: “The residents truly are the heart and soul of The Harriet Lane Handbook. We feel honored to have worked alongside them as they selflessly dedicated their time and expertise to ensure that it remains an indispensible pediatric reference.”
With their chief residencies at Hopkins Children’s at an end, and the book – nearly three years in the making – published, the editors continue on with their fellowships at Johns Hopkins, Tschudy in general academic pediatrics and Arcara in pediatric endocrinology.
Their handbook is named for Hopkins Children’s predecessor, The Harriet Lane Home for Invalid Children, 1912-1964. Today’s Department of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins continues the tradition of referring to graduates of its training program as “Harriet Laners.”
TheHarriet Lane Handbook, 19th Edition, by Johns Hopkins Hospital, Kristin Arcara and Megan Tschudy, MD, is published by Elsevier Mosby.