Empathy and the Practice of Medicine: Beyond Pills and the Scalpel [Paperback]

Howard Spiro M.D. (Editor), Professor Enid Peschel (Editor), Professor Mary G. McCrea Curnen (Editor), Deborah St James (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0300066708 | ISBN-13: 978-0300066708 | Publication Date: February 21, 1996

Seeking to restore empathy to medical practice, this book aims to demonstrate how important it is for doctors to listen to their patients, to experience and to understand what their patients are feeling. The book is a collection of essays by physicians, philosophers and a nurse.

Editorial Reviews

Review

All the essays that address teaching emphasize that the teacher-student relationship ought to model the empathy and compassion that we desire in the physician-patient relationship... The book is of particular value for medical educators. H.  Brody NEJM

Product Details

• Paperback: 222 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (February 21, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300066708
• ISBN-13: 978-0300066708
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #968,632 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book for Undergraduate and Medical Students, January 16, 2001

By 

Jignesh Shah (Louisville, KY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Empathy and the Practice of Medicine: Beyond Pills and the Scalpel (Paperback)

Hello, I am undergraduat student with a goal of becoming a caring physician. While I was working as a volunteer at the University Hospital, my coordinator told me about this book. I wrote to the publisher and requested a copy from them. This was by the far the best book I have read in my college career. The chapters are well written and organized. Chapter 3 in this book was the most remarkable chapter for me. It opened my eyes in many different ways. It sort of helped me become even more mature... A Must Buy for all the pre-medical student and Medical Students.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended, January 6, 2003

By 

Noel C. Hastings "Newbie MD" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Empathy and the Practice of Medicine: Beyond Pills and the Scalpel (Paperback)

I am a returning student, non-traditional. I have been in science and research for 6 years, and now I am returning to undergraduate classes in hopes of gaining admission to medical school. I found this book in a used bookstore and have not been able to stop reading it. Excellent essays and ruminations on what empathy is, how it is attained and lost and how it might be taught. Excellent reading of an academic nature directly applicable to any student planning on entering the healthcare field.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compassionate Physician, May 12, 2007

By 

Thomas B. Kirsch (Palo Alto, CA., USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Empathy and the Practice of Medicine: Beyond Pills and the Scalpel (Paperback)

Whereas modern medicine has become so technologically oriented, here is a book which emphasizes the humanity and the need to take the whole person into account.
The author is an eminent gastroenterologist who has been practicing medicine for almost 50 years, and he still enjoys his work because he he enjoys people and helping them.
It is a book which every practicing physician should read, and can also be most helpful for patients.
A wonderful book by a wise and compassionate human being.