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What Doctors Cannot Tell You
Almost 20 billion times each year, a person walks into a doctor's office.
The person becomes a patient. Everyone becomes this patient at some point.
How will you talk to your physicians? What will you tell them?
What will they tell you in return? They can't tell you what they don't know.
They can tell you when they don't know. Will they? What Doctors Cannot Tell You explores the uncertainty that pervades medicine.
It breaks the code of silence within which too many physician-patient conversations take place.
The patients' stories in its pages will empower you to ask questions of your physicians,
with a firm belief that healing and hope begin from honesty in those critical conversations. This book marries surgically precise medical narrative to thinking and perspective that will
throw the curtains wide on what medicine knows, what it doesn't know, and how it tries to tell the difference between the two.
This book is Outliers meets Patch Adams , only with an added how-to twist beyond the instructive and powerfully human narratives.
At every chapter's end, the reader will find a list of principles, one for each vignette, and questions to ask his or her physician. A few books in the last decade have focused on human errors and complications in medicine.
Each has suggested ways to improve medicine by the application of checklists and protocols.
This book adds a unique and important angle to these How firmly do we know what should go on the checklist or protocol in the first place?
How clear has medicine been with its patients about what it cannot know or does not yet know?
The person becomes a patient. Everyone becomes this patient at some point.
How will you talk to your physicians? What will you tell them?
What will they tell you in return? They can't tell you what they don't know.
They can tell you when they don't know. Will they? What Doctors Cannot Tell You explores the uncertainty that pervades medicine.
It breaks the code of silence within which too many physician-patient conversations take place.
The patients' stories in its pages will empower you to ask questions of your physicians,
with a firm belief that healing and hope begin from honesty in those critical conversations. This book marries surgically precise medical narrative to thinking and perspective that will
throw the curtains wide on what medicine knows, what it doesn't know, and how it tries to tell the difference between the two.
This book is Outliers meets Patch Adams , only with an added how-to twist beyond the instructive and powerfully human narratives.
At every chapter's end, the reader will find a list of principles, one for each vignette, and questions to ask his or her physician. A few books in the last decade have focused on human errors and complications in medicine.
Each has suggested ways to improve medicine by the application of checklists and protocols.
This book adds a unique and important angle to these How firmly do we know what should go on the checklist or protocol in the first place?
How clear has medicine been with its patients about what it cannot know or does not yet know?
- GenresNonfiction
276 pages, Paperback
First published June 13, 2012
6 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 23, 2020
Unfortunately, I've spent quite a bit of time this year with doctors and other medical professionals due to my health conditions. I picked up this book as I was getting a bit frustrated with how long my healing process was taking.
This is a very interesting fact-based look at the secret world of medicine and it really showed me just how much uncertainty there is in the process. The human body is so varied and complex, the treatments that we get are not guarantees, they are often just our best guesses at what will work - and many times it may be the case that the first treatment won't be the one that sticks. I would recommend this book to anyone who is dealing with a chronic condition or one that has a longer healing cycle, it will likely help develop patience as well as a better sense of understanding of what your physician is doing for you.
This is a very interesting fact-based look at the secret world of medicine and it really showed me just how much uncertainty there is in the process. The human body is so varied and complex, the treatments that we get are not guarantees, they are often just our best guesses at what will work - and many times it may be the case that the first treatment won't be the one that sticks. I would recommend this book to anyone who is dealing with a chronic condition or one that has a longer healing cycle, it will likely help develop patience as well as a better sense of understanding of what your physician is doing for you.
November 1, 2024
Helpful for non- healthcare workers but some parts are boring and repetitive when you work in this field
August 23, 2012
Dr. Jones' book is about medical uncertainty and how we - physicians, patients, and the medical systemm - attempt to cope with it. Because uncertainty surrounds so many aspects of practice from diagnosis to prognosis to treatment options to the human element, the unexpected is ironically common. I appreciate and very much agree with his assertion that trusting relationships are central to good medical practice. They are where the good communication occurs that allows people to face uncertain and mortal challenges with dignity and in confidence that - whatever happens - they are not alone. His patient stories illustrate many important aspects of these relationships and the special communication they require.
November 16, 2012
Composed mainly from patient stories, this book elucidates various instances of patient/doctor communication (or lack thereof), acknowledging that much of what we wish we knew (about how to treat disease, about how effective a given treatment is, etc) is actually uncertain and convincingly arguing that by acknowledging what we do not know, better communication and better treatment can result. Each chapter wraps with suggestions for questions to ask a care provider-- these were extremely helpful to think about when my son was in the hospital this summer. The book is very readable though dealing with some heavy stuff (sickness and death) and I'd recommend it to anyone who might ever have a health problem and/or interact with physicians.
August 21, 2012
I plowed through this book. And now I'm here to shout it from the rooftops! If you've ever visited a doctor, if you've ever worried about needing a second opinion, if you've ever headed to the internet or library to dig a little deeper into a diagnosis, if you've ever struggled with a medical decision, or if you just want a deeper, better educated view of your personal health but have no idea how to get meaningful conversations with your physician started... then you NEED to read this book!
Read more about it at www.doctorscannottellyou.com.
Read more about it at www.doctorscannottellyou.com.
February 12, 2014
It's interesting to see the other side (doctors) of a medical diagnosis and how unclear it can be sometimes. Medicine is definitely not always clear cut but sometimes as the patients we expect doctors to give us clear cut answers. This book helped me to have increased patience with doctors that can't seem to figure out what's wrong.
October 3, 2013
This was an informative, well written book with information for everyone. It was the selection for one of my book clubs, and we had a lively discussion. Well worth purchasing to have as a reference tool to navigate the medical system. I'm sure I will use the lists,of suggested questions often to facilitate better doctor-patient communication and decision making.
September 24, 2012
I think this book is a must read for all of us. All of us will have to deal with doctors and some very tough diagnoses either for ourselves or our loved one. Dr. Jones lets us in on the decision making process and how to communicate with the doctors.
December 30, 2014
This gives an empathetic look at what doctors are thinking and going through as they diagnose, treat, and follow up with patients. It is very friendly to the medical profession and also gives helpful hints on how to speak more effectively with a doctor.
February 6, 2018
This is must read for anyone who has been or will ever be a patient. Wait- that's all of us! Easy to follow and fascinating medical information.
December 10, 2014
Interesting, clear, well-organized and offering some great insight in dealing with medical issues.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews