Treatment Kind and Fair: Letters to a Young Doctor [Paperback]

Perri Klass (Author)

Book Description

Series: Letters to a Young... | Publication Date: August 26, 2008

If you’ve ever sat on an examination table and wondered what is really going on in your doctor’s head, then this book is for you. New York Times contributor and beloved author Perri Klass addresses the primary issues in the life of any doctor and, by extension, the lives of those for whom they care. She explores the moral judgments of doctors, questions of death and physician-assisted suicide, the daily life of a doctor, doctors as patients, and more. Klass offers a fascinating glimpse inside the doctor’s office for aspiring physicians and medical buffs. Treatment Kind and Fair is also a must-read for anyone who’s ever been a patient.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. When Klass's son decides to follow in her footsteps and apply to medical school, she writes a series of letters, advising him and every other young doctor on the intricacies of the field they're about to enter. But even though her subject is medicine, pediatrician and noted author Klass (The Mystery of Breathing) effortlessly transcends all professions, ages and interests, appealing to anyone who has ever stepped inside a hospital or watched one of television's ever-popular medical dramas. She guides readers gently through the medical field, behind closed doors into the staff rooms and into the sharp minds of doctors, giving readers a glimpse of what it is like to work 100-plus hours a week, the intensity of interning and the overwhelming responsibility of getting it right, and what can be done when a mistake happens (as it inevitably will). Her advice is moral as well as practical: she speaks of the need for feeling a sense of common humanity with the homeless alcoholic who arrives at the emergency room. Klass concludes, I write about medicine because people want to read about medicine... a world that many people see as closed, inaccessible, and full of fascinating life-and-death secrets... of characters and stories and plots (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Library Journal"
"Pediatrician and journalist Klass delivers a vivid account of her experiences and lessons learned during medical school, residency, and as an attending physician... Her enthusiasm for the profession and ability to share her years of practice make this an excellent read for future medical students, medical professionals, and anyone interested in medicine."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; 1 edition (August 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 046503778X
• ISBN-13: 978-0465037780
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 4.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #627,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Doctor as The Mom Next Door, June 29, 2007

By 

Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Treatment Kind and Fair: Letters to a Young Doctor (Art of Mentoring) (Hardcover)

I can't remember a time when I didn't read Perri Klass's books and stories. As I recall, she was featured in the New York Times as a writing prodigy, and she continued to write when she made the improbable choice to pursue a medical career. As she pointed out, she wasn't particularly gifted in science and math. No one in her family studied medicine. But that's what she wanted. Her "becoming a doctor" stories will be relevant to anyone choosing a career, in or out of medicine.

Klass's gift lies in her ability to humanize whatever she describes and add her own unique combination of earth-mother warmth and cool analysis. So she describes her own experiences as a patient in a hospital, her interviews with young medical students and her memories of good and bad decisions over the years. It's like reading about the mom next door, a totally ordinary person...and oh yes, she's also a doctor and famous writer.

I don't relate this book to TV programs like Greys Anatomy and ER. Frankly, I don't like those programs. I compare it more to Jerome Groopman's book, How Doctors Decide, and Atul Gawande's Better. Like them, Klass accepts all the downsides of contemporary medicine but also appplauds both the field and her profession. She writes about getting into the lives of her patients. She remembers calling hospitals from distant vacations, tracking down test results and follow-ups.

As a pediatrician, she seems more humane and caring than most doctors. She acknowledges that pediatrics brings special joys -- you rarely deal with end-of-life issues. I believe pediatrics attracts the more humane physicians, leaving the rest of us with those who view patients as money-generating numbers.

Perhaps the most controversial (yet interesting) elements of the book are those related to medical decision-making. In one place, Klass reports a satiric look at how decisions get made: arrogance and prestige carry more weight than we would like to believe.

Klass also reports research suggesting that for a particular medical condition, any one of three options would be equally justifiable - intervention, tests, or watching and waiting. Thus it seems reasonable to default to parental preference.

But is it? Each option carries different costs. If my insurance company willingly pays for the most expensive option, what happens to my premiums - and the likelihood of being turned down for my own preference?

Elsewhere, Klass describes the frustrations of dealing with the realities of 21st century medicine - paperwork, HPAA and more. We soon realize that much or medicine remains more art than science and doctors are still human.

This book appeared to little acclaim just as Michael Moore's Sicko hits the big screen. It offers an interesting contrast - a micro, physician-based view, rather than the macro consumer view. If you're interested in a rational physician perspective, or just enjoy Perri Klass, Treatment Kind and Fair would be a good addition to your own bookshelf.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "When all else fails, look at the patient.", October 25, 2007

By 

E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Treatment Kind and Fair: Letters to a Young Doctor (Art of Mentoring) (Hardcover)

Harvard Medical School graduate Perri Klass is a pediatrician as well as a wife and mother. In "Treatment Kind and Fair--Letters to a Young Doctor," the author shares the considerable wisdom that she has acquired over the years. Dr. Klass practiced primary care pediatrics in Boston for more than a decade, did infectious disease work at the Boston University School of Medicine, and has been involved with a program called "Reach Out and Read," which "promotes reading aloud and early literacy." She is currently a professor of journalism and pediatrics at New York University.

Klass discusses many of the challenges that prospective physicians face: getting into medical school (no mean feat); once admitted, memorizing an incredible amount of technical information quickly; adjusting to the responsibilities of being an intern and then a resident; learning how to communicate effectively with patients and their families; avoiding medical errors and gracefully handling the inevitable mistakes that do occur; and facing a patient's death without succumbing to despair. "By entering this profession, you will grapple with uncertainty and insecurity, with tragedy and pain, and above all, you will meet people's needs."

Klass covers a great deal of territory in this relatively slender volume. She discusses the art of conducting a patient interview as well as a thorough physical examination; the importance of caring, yet staying detached enough to function effectively; how to use the awesome technology that is available in the twenty-first century without becoming overly dependent on it; and how to strike the proper balance between one's personal and professional life. A doctor should never be so obsessed with her job that she neglects to devote her time to other interests and passions.

The author has been an accomplished writer for years, and she draws the reader in effortlessly with her literate yet conversational prose style. Occasionally, she waxes philosophical: "Medical training is transformative. It will make you over completely--your emotions, your sense of proportion, your narrative abilities, and your habits of mind." Klass's refreshing honesty and no-nonsense approach to her subject make this a highly pleasurable and thought-provoking read about "a privileged profession"--one that gives the medical practitioner an "opportunity to figure in so many people's stories."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, June 14, 2008

By 

just write well "justwritewell" (Virginia, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Treatment Kind and Fair: Letters to a Young Doctor (Art of Mentoring) (Hardcover)

Perri Klass just can't write a bad book. I emphathize with her. As a fellow professional about her age, I too have paused "mid career" and suddenly realized that we are not the brash young kids any more, we are the ones teaching and guiding.

Perri tells it like it is--like a guided tour through the mind of a doctor.

I enjoyed her book very much and wish Orlando a very successful career!!!