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The History Connection - How Doctors Think
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List Price: $15.95
Our Price: $4.81
Your Save: $ 11.14 ( 70% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 610
EAN: 9780547053646
ISBN: 0547053649
Label: Mariner Books
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 336
Publication Date: 2008-03-12
Publisher: Mariner Books
Studio: Mariner Books
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: How Nurses Think...
Comment: It's interesting to know that the number one reason people go to an Emergency room is for Abdominal pain; not Chest Pain - which is a complex complaint for any doctor or nurse to deal with. Every doctor is known to make mistakes; it's a fact of science and nature. Sometimes when working full-time with heavy caseloads, it's easy to burn - out and and make an error which may result in the demise of patients presenting with vaque complaints. No one can be 100% right all the time; doctors are mere humans and they do err. This book delves into the minds of doctors, and how they are trained to think and discern. Dr. Groopman delves into the process of making a medical diagnosis and the type of thinking that is required to come to an appropriate and correct diagnosis.
I love it when Dr. Goopman tries to inspire other doctors to form a more personal relationship with their patients; as he also motivates them to actively listen to what information the patient offers.
This slim little volume is a study on physician cognitive pathways; how doctors think is really what is contained within. How doctors are trained is what conditions them the most, so it is a very important time in their lives .... selection of an accredited medical school deserves a bit more elaboration that would have helped this book to gain a more comprehensive footing on how MDs are formed.
Epistemology is the nature of knowing, and this book elaborates on it.
---Which also throws alot of light into understanding medical decisions. A the statement on page 174 says, "There is nothing in biology or medicine that is so complicated that, if explained in clear and simple languarge, cannot be understood by any layperson."
This is as true a statement that Dr. Groopman could ever have made.
This yarn continues to unravel and becomes quite amusing when the author examines the accuracy of diagnosing in MDs.
It's quite funny to discover that on average, each pathologist agreed with his own diagnosis only 89 percent of the time! (On page 182.)
Sort of like not being able to read one's own handwriting when asked to do so in a court of law. Very embarrassing, but revealing nonetheless.
The point is that doctors sometimes are given such a huge and vast load of work to read and interpret, that mistakes are unavoidable. Dr. Groopman impresses that more time is needed for every MD to just spend thinking about all the possibilities in making medical diagnosis.
Finally, this book does come into dealing with very serious and grave medical conditions - cases that involve terminal conditions such as cancer that do not have a cure. These are the most difficult cases to work with; especially on an emotional level.
I found that the book was very helpful to me, as a nurse, in understanding how doctors make their diagnosis. It is a good book and I recommend it to anyone who wishes to watch how the gears turn in the head of the doctors they work alongside with, or make an appointment to see.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very informative and interesting
Comment: I just finished "How Doctors Think" and I must say, it was a very informative read. I found the short case histories and subsequent discussions to be very interesting and was particularly moved by the case of the Vietnamese infant. I agree with the author, that a major shift in clinical practice is long overdue which takes into account what we now know about cognition. This is a great book for doctors and patients alike which raises some serious questions for both parties to consider.
The reading can be a little dry at times. As I explained to my friend who picked up the book with some interest, "it reads like something in between my cognitive psychology textbook and a medical fiction novel" In fact, there were times I felt sure I was reading a textbook-- but nonetheless, it was a great read and one I'll keep on my shelf. Excellent!
Customer Rating:
Summary: An excellent read and a must read for doctors and patients alike.
Comment: Patients are not items in an assembly line. Each individual is different externally and internally; the chemistry is also different. You cannot treat all of them using the same idea or technique or knowledge just as much as they are not molded using the same template or cookie cutter. You cannot relate the sound of hoofs merely to horses; they could be zebras.
Good doctors have to think out of the box. What they studied in medical school, read in a medical journal, and heard from their peers' experiences can all be used as basis for diagnosis and treatment. But along with that, they also need to keep an open mind to think outside the box; to see that extraordinary situation that could happen to the patient. Just because it was never there before does not mean that it will never be there. Just because you have not heard something or seen something, does not mean that it doesn't exist.
"For three decades practicing as a physician, I looked to traditional sources to assist me in my thinking about my patients: textbooks and medical journals; mentors and colleagues with deeper or more varied clinical experience; students and residents who posed challenging questions. But after writing this book, I realized that I can have another vital partner who helps improve my thinking, a partner who may with a few pertinent and focused questions, protect me from the cascade of cognitive pitfalls that cause misguided care. That partner is present in the moment when flesh-and-blood decision-making occurs. That partner is my patient or her family member or friend who seeks to know what is in my mind, how I am thinking. And by opening my mind I can more clearly recognize its reach and its limits, its understanding of my patient's physical problems and emotional needs. There is no better way to care for those who need my caring."
-Dr. Jerome Groopman, M.D., author of `How Doctors Think'.-
Dr. Groopman has nailed the critical point in this book. I have unfortunately heard doctors say, `I have not heard such a thing in my entire 30 years of practice'. Some of them are highly pressured by the organization that they work for, to come to a quick conclusion and let the patient go or make a hasty decision. They do not have time to think too much. Organizations that pressure them this way are trying to save money and not lives. Doctors are there to save lives. But unfortunately some doctors have to use the same cookie cutter or template to treat all the patients alike. Dr. Groopman's book is an eye-opener for doctors who have an ethical and moral obligation towards their patients; who have compassion towards other human beings.
It is a great book with profound knowledge; it is an eye opener for both patients and doctors alike - a must read.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Insightful book to this science researcher -- IF you skip chapter 5
Comment: I accidentally stumbled upon Jerome Groopman's book, and picked it up figuring it might be worth reading. As a science researcher who's considered attending medical school, Dr. Groopman's book was insightful in confronting the many problems affecting physicians and medical schools today. After several chapters of meaningful stories, I came to chapter 5, `A New Mother's Challenge". I wish I had skipped this chapter.
Groopman begins by explaining the story of a woman, Rachel, who adopts a baby from Vietnam. This child is found with a severe immunodeficiency of unknown causes. Throughout the chapter, Groopman explains how Rachel, (whom we later find he met in their local synagogue), falls back on God and her faith throughout her new baby's ordeal. We later find Rachel thanking God for saving her child's life on September 11, 2001.
Of course, this was the same day some of God's most faithful flew two planes into the World Trade Center in His name, killing thousands of innocent people. Yet amazingly as a clinician and scientist, Groopman seems to continue to preach faith at the end of the chapter, failing to recognize that what saved this baby's life is the rational human mind (even if it is fallible at times) . The research scientists who studied science for years to develop laboratory tests to diagnose the illness, the physicians and nurses who applied medical science knowledge in their care of the baby, and ironically the mother Rachel, all guided the doctors to the right diagnostic answer to save her baby's life. YET it is this unknowable metaphysical `God' who gets thanked time and again for her baby's survival?? Besides this unfortunate, and unnecessary, preaching that undermines the flow of the book, Dr. Groopman's tales are of great value in learning the difficult decisions and potential cognitive errors medical doctors can face everyday. It arms the lay reader with great insights into practical ways to discuss a loved one's health and one's own health with their physicians.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Without risking failure there is zero chance of success
Comment:
When Dr. Jerome Groopman began his medical internship at the Massachusetts General Hospital, he placed a high priority on facts. While in medical school he had tirelessly tried to "store an encyclopedia in [his] mind" as so that when faced with patients, he could "open the mental book and find the correct diagnosis and treatment." Thirty years later he saw students and residents relying on statistics, algorithms, "evidence-based" guidelines -- tools he feared would shackle their cognitive processes. How do doctors think, he wondered? How SHOULD they think?
This book is the product of his thoughtful consideration of those questions. He read the available research and spoke with many colleagues about their theory and experience, assembling cases to illustrate his findings. There are many ways a doctor can fall into errors of cognitive process. Representativeness error matches the patient against a prototype and fails to consider other possibilities: a fit, active man is probably not having a heart attack. Attribution error leads a doctor to categorize the patient negatively: the disheveled patient with edema and an enlarged liver is probably an alcoholic. Affective error prevents the doctor from looking beyond favorable indicators for a liked or admired patient. These and other errors are based in social assumptions and pattern recognition, and in the general rule that when you hear hoofbeats, you should think of horses, not zebras. In these days of managed medicine, there is bias toward a linear approach and "satisfaction of search" -- settling for the first answer that reasonably accommodates the available data.
The detailing of these and other cognitive errors and shortcuts actually forms a small part of How Doctors Think. Dr. Groopman goes on to discuss situations where errors of thinking are likely to occur: the reading of X-rays and CT scans, the impact of marketing on medical decision making, the roles of variability and uncertainty in treating babies with malformed hearts, the treatment of cancer. The patients and their stories are well integrated with Dr. Groopman's discussion of his subject: how to partner with the patient for the best possible outcome.
This is not a book of medical horror stories, nor of doctor-bashing; not even of managed care-bashing. It's a measured exploration of the doctor's role, with a final chapter offering advice to patients on questions they might ask their doctors. Required reading for all parties in the health care team. Yes, that means you!
Linda Bulger, 2008
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Editorial Reviews:
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How Doctors Think is a window into the mind of the physician and an insightful examination of the all-important relationship between doctors and their patients. In this myth-shattering work, Jerome Groopman explores the forces and thought processes behind the decisions doctors make. He pinpints why doctors succeed and why they err. Most important, Groopman shows when and how doctors can -- with our help -- avoid snap judgments, embrace uncertainty, communicate effectively, and deploy other skills that can profoundly impact our health.
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