A slim, potent guide to compassionate medical care.
An updated guidebook to the finer nuances of patient care.
Physician Meador (Fascinomas, 2013, etc.) offers a new, modernized edition of his book of medical maxims, which was first published in 1992. Its core intent is to remind “medical students, residents and physicians in primary care” that their focus should be on “treating a person, not a disease.” The recommendations in it are derived from the teachings of early 1900s Canadian physician and educator William Osler, which focus on the benefits of personally and attentively interacting with patients. Since the first edition of this book, Meador says, an emphasis on patient volume, unnecessary screening tests, and increasingly complex division of health care has had the effect of further “separating the physician from the patient,” and he frames this new edition as a sort of refresher course. He delivers sage wisdom through small, declarative dictums, which are potent enough to stand on their own without exposition or explanation. For instance, the book begins with the basic tenets of doctor-patient eye contact, human touch, and compassionate, uninterrupted attention (“When you are listening to a patient, do not do anything else. Just listen”). Other chapters incorporate tips on mental health assessments, drug prescribing, and caring for “difficult” patients. A comprehensive closing section (“General rules for being a physician and a professional”) encompasses a cornucopia of clinical guidance that will be of particular benefit to medical students. Throughout, the author’s advice underscores the importance of prioritizing human interaction above corporate bottom lines. A few of the notes here make oddly broad assumptions (“After midnight all [dementia] cases get clinically strange”), but they’re all well-intentioned and practical.
A slim, potent guide to compassionate medical care.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-72015-555-3
Page Count: 88
Publisher: Time Tunnel Media
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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