There are many textbooks to chose from when preparing for the FRCA examination; the candidate suffers not from lack of information but rather from being inundated with it. The candidate then has the task of information sorting and data compression to memorize and utilize all this information. Graphic representation of data is an excellent form of data compression; figures or drawings are frequently asked about at the viva examination, particularly since the candidate’s understanding of a problem comes across most clearly when drawing a figure or a using a picture. For anaesthetists whose first language is not English, figures are also a good way of approaching a topic.
