Patient Listening - A Doctor's Guide

From the fictional portrait of Dr Gregory House to Jerome Groopman's bestseller How Doctors Think, doctors and the general public alike realise that a doctor's job is more than a technical practice. But why do so many patients leave doctors' surgeries feeling dissatisfied with their interactions? In this addition to the burgeoning field of narrative medicine, physician Loreen Herwaldt uses the illness stories of twenty patient-writers to teach listening skills to medical students, residents, physicians and other healthcare professionals. Drawing on the narratives of up-and-coming and well-known writers, including Oliver Sacks, Richard Selzer and Mary Swander, each poem presents the experience of illness and treatment from the patient's perspective. Listening to the Patient includes a detailed general introduction and guide that will prove invaluable in the classroom and in clinical practice. This book will inspire thought for everyone who reads it. It is also intended to foster discussion on all aspects of the patient experience, from ethics to stigma. Listening to the Patient is not only about bedside behaviour, but also about how healthcare professionals can derive the most benefit from their interactions with patients and therefore offer more appropriate therapies.