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

by Douglas Farrago M.D. (Author), Gordon W. Marshall (Illustrator) "You think just because you have seen a reality program showing an open-heart surgery or a baby being born that you know what physicians are..." (more)
Key Phrases: Placebo Journal, Yellow Bill, Bot Fly (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In this admittedly vulgar but entertaining compilation, family physician Farrago brings together some of the most ridiculous doctor jokes and real-life medical stories sent in by readers of his bi-weekly Placebo Journal. Like the journal, the book is intended as comic relief for physicians who could use a pain pill or two. The stories and anecdotes are organized by the stage that they are likely to apply in a doctor's career (during medical school, residency, etc.), but that doesn't keep the book from feeling like a jumbled assortment of annoying patient complaints (irregular bowels, etc.), jokes about pharmaceutical reps and false ads for items such as "The First ADHD Medications for Children In-Utero" and Cameloft, an antidepressant cigarette ("It's chic, it's uplifting and it's just what the doctor ordered"). But each section does include some unifying themes like "X-Ray Files," x-ray images of items stuck in unusual places, and "Those Darn Narc Seekers," stories of patients who seek prescription drugs for non-existent ailments. As Farrago points out in his introduction, the Latin definition of the word "placebo" is "to give pleasure," and those who appreciate the occasional crude joke will find a little of that here. However, this book is not recommended as waiting room reading.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
High praise for Placebo Journal:

“Placebo Journal is juvenile. It's immature. It's politically incorrect. It's also very funny.”—Washington Post

“Raunchy, adolescent, and very funny.”—U.S. News and World Report


See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Broadway; 1 edition (April 12, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767919491
• ISBN-13: 978-0767919494
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #210,379 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #44 in	Books > Entertainment > Humor > Doctors & Medicine
  #57 in	Books > Entertainment > Humor > Business & Professional

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST FOR PATIENTS/DOCTORS/ASPIRING DOCTORS , May 25, 2005

By	cpg (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reality bites!, December 17, 2005

By	doctor from the black lagoon (New York) - See all my reviews

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!

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars mybookopinion MISSED THE POINT, September 28, 2005

By	notorious surgeon "notorious surgeon" - See all my reviews

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?