How Doctors Think.

How Doctors Think. HOW DOCTORS THINK AUTHOR: Jerome Groopman Jerome Groopman has been a staff writer in medicine and biology for The New Yorker since 1998. He is also the Dina and Raphael Recanati Chair of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Chief of Experimental Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and author of four , MD PUBLISHER: Houghton Mifflin Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. The company's headquarters is located in Boston's Back Bay. It publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers , Boston, 2007 ISBN ISBNabbr.International Standard Book NumberISBNInternational Standard Book NumberISBNn abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m: 13 978 0 618 61004 7, 276 pg plus notes and index, $26.00 I found some intriguing in��trigue?n.1. a. A secret or underhand scheme; a plot.b. The practice of or involvement in such schemes.2. A clandestine love affair.v. similarities between this thought-provokingbook and Blink. However, in more cases than not, it seems that morephysicians should "not just do something, stand there." Thereare many stories here where for a number of reasons--simple dislike ofthe patient, the desire not to put the patient through more stress anddiscomfort, taking the first diagnosis that pops into mind (a laBlink-ing), failure to see the whole picture--a wrong diagnosis made orincorrect treatment ordered. The gist of this book is that whilecritical paths may be quite useful and effective for a run-of-the-milldiagnosis and treatment, they may rapidly collapse when a doctor needsto think outside the box as when symptoms are vague or the history isblurry, or when laboratory results do not fit the picture (that thephysician has in mind). In these cases, where the clinician clinician/cli��ni��cian/ (kli-nish��in) an expert clinical physician and teacher. cli��ni��ciann. most needsindependent, thorough thinking, the critical path discourages that sortof approach. Among the case studies, Groopman (himself a practicingphysician and teacher) refers to numerous studies of thought processes This is a list of thinking styles, methods of thinking (thinking skills), and types of thought. See also the List of thinking-related topic lists, the List of philosophies and the . and approaches to decision-making by physicians. The subjects, heargues, are seldom broached during training, unfortunately. Aslaboratorians, family and friends of patients and future patientsyourself, I encourage you to read this book and think about it andremember it the next time you find yourself talking with a physicianabout a case. Book Reviews are written by David Plaut, Plano, TX.davidplaut@yahoo.com