About this title: A "New Yorker" staff writer, bestselling author, and professor at Harvard Medical School unravels the mystery of how doctors figure out the best treatments--or fail to do so. This book describes the warning signs of flawed medical thinking and offers intelligent questions patients can ask.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Mariner Books
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780547053646ISBN:0547053649
Description: Acceptable. A readable copy. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (the dust cover may be missing). Pages can include considerable notes-in pen or highlighter-but the notes cannot obscure the text. read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Acceptable. Former Library book. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Edition: 1st
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Date Published: 2007-03-19
ISBN-13:9780618610037ISBN:0618610030
Description: Good. Minimal damage to the cover, dust jacket not necessarily included minimal wear to binding, majority of pages undamaged, minimal to no highlighting/underlining of text, no missing p. read more
Description: Good. Book shows minor use. Cover and Binding have minimal wear and the pages have only minimal creases. A tradition of southern quality and service. All books guaranteed at the Atlanta Book Company. read more
Description: Very good. Light wear to edges and pages. Cover and spine show no easily noticeable damage. A tradition of southern quality and service. All books guaranteed at the Atlanta Book Company. read more
"I read these medical narratives because I'm interested in the case studies, and I just can't seem to get enough of them. How Doctors Think is full of interesting stories, and I appreciated that Dr. Groopman used the complete names for diseases and disorders. I never felt that his tone was condescending in the least, maybe because the book is intended for physicians and laypeople alike. His thesis is that misdiagnoses most often occur because of doctors' cognitive errors, and that these errors can be avoided by better communication between patient and doctor. That's an interesting idea in itself, but not as interesting as the case studies. That said, I didn't read this with the same unquenchable thirst that I did Atul Gawande's Complications. Groopman's writing is just a tad stuffier and more pedantic, and sometimes even a little too emotional for my taste. I'm sure he's an excellent doctor, and certainly more experienced than Gawande, but that didn't make me like the book more."
"Here's a book I'd recommend to everyone. Patients will benefit by learning how their doctors think and, importantly, how to help them think. Doctors will benefit by becoming more aware of the kinds of cognitive errors they're prone to make and how to avoid them (or at least to decrease their incidence).
Here are some lessons I've learned: 1. If yours is a difficult case that's getting worse after initial treatment, you can ask your doctor: "What else could it be? What is the worst thing it could be?" This helps your doctor get out of stereotypical thinking patterns.
2. Ask: Is there anything that doesn't fit?
3. Ask: Is it possible I have more than one problem?
4. You can talk about the problem area and ask, "What other body part in that area may be causing the problem?" Again, you're helping your doctor shift from the rut of typing you as a stereotypical case.
5. Try repeating your story to your doctor from the very beginning. This may prompt your doctor to look in new directions that may have been missed earlier."
"I read this for work - basically so I would know how to defend including it in the library collection if a doctor came in complaining about what I was giving his/her patients to read. I suspect that there are some physicians who would have a problem with Groopman's notion that doctors are human and therefore prone to the same foibles as the rest of us - but most are already painfully aware of that fact I think. Hard to say whether or not they all want their patients to know that they are human, but it would probably behoove those who don't to admit it all the same.
Among other things, Groopman reminds us that many (most even) doctors care a great deal about their patients - and sometimes this very quality that we come to appreciate can skew their ability to provide objective medical diagnosis and treatment. I like that quite a lot. If my doctor is going to make a mistake, I hope it is one borne of like for me - and not distaste, contempt or boredom.
I didn't learn much from this book. I already knew that physician training is a bit behind the general education research, and lacking in many areas. And I already knew that doctors are rushed, have conflicting priorites and don't like to make mistakes.
I think there are patients who may not be aware of the ways they can help themselves and their physicians avoid medical errors, and Groopman has some very clear ideas about that. So I liked the book - and definitely think it has a place on hospital library shelves."
"I read this book as a layperson only with a husband who has chronic stomach problem that no doctor can seem to diagnose. Although it was a bit technical at times, I didn't feel that it was so detailed that I was unable to understand it. I thought this was a great book about medicine in today's society and how a patient can get more involved with their own care by making themselves aware of the easy cognitive errors doctors make. It reminds us that although most doctors have the best of intentions, they are still human. I found it very insightful and educational, but also an interesting read b/c of the many stories that are told to give further depth and understanding. I am going to encourage my husband to read it as well, but regardless of that, I now know what I can to do help him and his doctors communicate better so that we can hopefully figure out what is going on with him once and for all."
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