Customer Reviews

The Placebo Chronicles: Strange But True Tales From the Doctors' Lounge

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is the one you reach for after a long, hard day with whiny patients, screeching moms and parents who keep forgetting to give their epileptic kid his phenobarbital.

You need to put it all together and solve the mystery of how so many people make it from day to day with the worst habits and total inability to take care of themselves...

The irksome part of being a doctor is that you start out thinking it is all so noble and then you realize that in a room full of patients, staff and you, no one would ever agree with you.

Placebo Chronicles will radically revise your perspective as a health care provider and remind you how to get by from day to day! A great book for anyone who wants to know what real life in health care is like...Warning: you will never be able to watch any of those "dramedy" medical shows without snickering over their rank stupidity ever again, so read at your own risk!

If you've ever seen a doctor or intend to see a doctor or (heaven forbid) want to become a doctor, be sure to get this wonderful compilation of out-of-this-world patient/doctor stories. It will prove to you that doctors are as human as anyone else and that there are thousands of patients who have dumber questions and grosser problems than you have. Buy TWO copies; give one to your doctor.

As a st doc I can attest to the many stories in this book...in particular are the 2am ER narc seekers, heres a hint people, wether its in the ER at 2am or your FP at 10AM if you are a seeking narcotics everyone knows it, no one beleives how your rx was stolen, or how your toilet has passed so much codeine it should be given its own DEA number. Great read for those looking for some relief from the PC world we live in when you can be sued for telling a patient she is too fat and the once noble profession has been reduced to something akin to a walking lottery ticket, you can find refuge in the chronicles at least until that sheriff tracks you down with that subpoena.

To the reviewer with the 40 lb tumor heres a hint: the fact that these stories make headlines are a testament to their rarity. It is also getting more difficult to practice medicine due to the bulging waste lines...palpating organs is more difficult due to the fat folds so I can see how a tumor maybe missed in a 500 pound pt. On another note, spend a few weeks in a county ER, ride with an ambulance crew, spend a few days fighting with an insurance compnay to pay for something, or take a listen to some drone pharm rep lecturing about their product using scientific words and biostatistical analysis that were probably not taught between the time they left the sorority and the time they got the drug rep required implants and you will realize that making fun of these things is the only way to keep sane. I didn't even mention the paranoia at being sued by everyone you lay your hands on.....Or you can save yourself a week, read this book with an open mind and you will be inside the ER to see the 42 year old at 3AM for a cough they've had for the last 2 years but just got around to it at 3AM on a Friday or argue with the mom loaded with gold about the $4.00 bottle of Tylenol her kid needs...then watch her throw the Rx out getting in a better car than what you drive wondering why?

LOVE love love this book. As 15-plus year PA in ER and General Practice have NOT had the "Residency" Blues but have incountered most if not all of the patients/providers in this book. If one cannot keep a sense of humor and balance, I question if one can truely provide "medical care". Big thumbs-up for Dr. Farrago, and can't wait for more books, columns, papers from The Placebo Chronicles!

The Placebo Chronicles by Dr. Douglas Farrago is without doubt the most informational, entertaining book I have read in 7 years.It tells about the trials,long hours of hard work and study, the myriad laughable situations, the serious problems legitimate patients bring to the examining room, the out-and out hypochrondriacs that would wear out an iron man's patience; the pranks played on others and on ones' self.Hilariously it reveals the reason a woman claimed she couldn't get pregnant and it also tells about the fun the doctor had putting peanut-butter and jelly on his shoe and the reaction the nurse had when he ate some of it.(She thought it was from the bathroom.) This book is an absolute must to anyone that would like to know more about the things that happen to a person on the way to becomming a full-fledged doctor. If you have no sense of humor, LEAVE IT ALONE, but, if like me, you are practically home-bound because of Lupus, CHF, Osteoarthritis, GERD, etc., then, by all means
buy it and see if it doesn't make a difference in your life. My sense of humor has been honed razor sharp reading Dr. Doug's writings. (The Placebo Journal, The Placebo Gazette , and now the Placebo Chronicles, are all very special to my welfare and I highly recommend all of them .

I have been a PJ reader since its inception. I eagerly await every issue. As a practicing physician it helps keep me sane by serving as a reality check. Am I the only one thinking these thoughts? Apparently not - PJ is right there beside me, publicly saying what I would never dare outside of the doctors' lounge. Simply put,it's the best medicine for those who practice medicine.

Dr. Farrago has boldly gone where no doctor has gone before. Get this book and ride along with him!

Yes it is true! My mother moaned and groaned as her teenaged grandchildren passed the book around and read their favorites aloud. Sheesh! You'd think she would be happy that they are reading!

This hilarious book was bought as a gift for a friend but never made it out of the kitchen. Guess he'll have to get his own copy!

The title (this is reality...) says it all. You (as a M.D.) are not alone, there are other M.D.s who live through the same pros and cons of being a physician. Conclusion: look at the bright side of medicine ... and don't get burnt out!!

I have been a long time subscriber to the Placebo Journal, the periodical published by Dr. Farrago, and anxiously await each issue. When I received my copy of the Placebo Chronicles I couldn't wait to dig in and I was not disappointed! It is entertaining to both the medical community and the non-medical individual and gives both a dose of humor and a dose of insight into the day to day trials faced by medical practitioners across the country. I am going to be purchasing several copies of this as gifts for my friends and family who can appreciate great humor. Thanks Dr. Doug!

Some interesting stories. Some very boring stories. A few seem like they would only be interesting to other doctors, which is fine, as it is written by doctors. Very badly edited, which is why I called it random. The stories are just thrown together. At one point, in the middle of the book, there is what reads as an introduction to the purpose of the book. It would have been appropriate at the beginning of the book. Some of the stories just end, with no explanation or conclusion--they don't make any sense.
As another reviewer stated, this doesn't work very well on a kindle. Some stories were written in very tiny writing on background pictures, which made it impossible to read. The supposed "ads" are mostly stupid and childish.
It seems that this book was just thrown together hurriedly to make a buck.