When Doctors Say No

Download When Doctors Say No PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Indiana University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780253112965
Total Pages : 214 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (129 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis When Doctors Say No by : Susan B. Rubin

Download or read book When Doctors Say No written by Susan B. Rubin and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 1998-10-22 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The book is a fine addition to the world of academic medical ethics... Readers... will come away with some of the tools for further debate." -- Publishers Weekly "Susan B. Rubin's splendid new book... offers positive, humane solutions to the frustrations that have given rise to the futility debate." -- Carl Elliott, Medical Humanities Review "Rubin offers a thorough and thought-provoking exploration of the concept of futility as a basis for medical decisions." -- Choice "... [the] brilliant analysis found in Rubin's [book] couldn't be more timely.... When Doctors Say No is the most thorough philosophical rebuttal to be found in the literature of medical futility as the basis for unilateral decisionmaking by physicians." -- Charles Weijer, Canadian Medical Association Journal Should physicians be permitted to unilaterally refuse to provide treatment that they deem futile? Even if the patient, or the patient's family, insists that everything possible must be done? In this book, philosopher and bioethicist Rubin examines this controversial issue. She offers a critique of the concept of medical futility and the debate surrounding it, and she calls for more public debate about the underlying issues at stake for all of us -- patients, families, health care providers, insurers, and society at large.

When Doctors Don't Listen

Download When Doctors Don't Listen PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Macmillan
ISBN 13 : 0312594917
Total Pages : 350 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (125 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis When Doctors Don't Listen by : Dr. Leana Wen

Download or read book When Doctors Don't Listen written by Dr. Leana Wen and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2013-01-15 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discusses how to avoid harmful medical mistakes, offering advice on such topics as working with a busy doctor, communicating the full story of an illness, evaluating test risks, and obtaining a working diagnosis.

How Doctors Think

Download How Doctors Think PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : HarperCollins
ISBN 13 : 0547348630
Total Pages : 325 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (473 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis How Doctors Think by : Jerome Groopman

Download or read book How Doctors Think written by Jerome Groopman and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2008-03-12 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On average, a physician will interrupt a patient describing her symptoms within eighteen seconds. In that short time, many doctors decide on the likely diagnosis and best treatment. Often, decisions made this way are correct, but at crucial moments they can also be wrong—with catastrophic consequences. In this myth-shattering book, Jerome Groopman pinpoints the forces and thought processes behind the decisions doctors make. Groopman explores why doctors err and shows when and how they can—with our help—avoid snap judgments, embrace uncertainty, communicate effectively, and deploy other skills that can profoundly impact our health. This book is the first to describe in detail the warning signs of erroneous medical thinking and reveal how new technologies may actually hinder accurate diagnoses. How Doctors Think offers direct, intelligent questions patients can ask their doctors to help them get back on track. Groopman draws on a wealth of research, extensive interviews with some of the country’s best doctors, and his own experiences as a doctor and as a patient. He has learned many of the lessons in this book the hard way, from his own mistakes and from errors his doctors made in treating his own debilitating medical problems. How Doctors Think reveals a profound new view of twenty-first-century medical practice, giving doctors and patients the vital information they need to make better judgments together.

Snowball in a Blizzard

Download Snowball in a Blizzard PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Basic Books
ISBN 13 : 0465098576
Total Pages : 313 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (65 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Snowball in a Blizzard by : Steven Hatch

Download or read book Snowball in a Blizzard written by Steven Hatch and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2016-02-23 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There's a running joke among radiologists: finding a tumor in a mammogram is akin to finding a snowball in a blizzard. A bit of medical gallows humor, this simile illustrates the difficulties of finding signals (the snowball) against a background of noise (the blizzard). Doctors are faced with similar difficulties every day when sifting through piles of data from blood tests to X-rays to endless lists of patient symptoms. Diagnoses are often just educated guesses, and prognoses less certain still. There is a significant amount of uncertainty in the daily practice of medicine, resulting in confusion and potentially deadly complications. Dr. Steven Hatch argues that instead of ignoring this uncertainty, we should embrace it. By digging deeply into a number of rancorous controversies, from breast cancer screening to blood pressure management, Hatch shows us how medicine can fail-sometimes spectacularly-when patients and doctors alike place too much faith in modern medical technology. The key to good health might lie in the ability to recognize the hype created by so many medical reports, sense when to push a physician for more testing, or resist a physician's enthusiasm when unnecessary tests or treatments are being offered. Both humbling and empowering, Snowball in a Blizzard lays bare the inescapable murkiness that permeates the theory and practice of modern medicine. Essential reading for physicians and patients alike, this book shows how, by recognizing rather than denying that uncertainty, we can all make better health decisions.

Ending Medical Reversal

Download Ending Medical Reversal PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : JHU Press
ISBN 13 : 1421417723
Total Pages : 276 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (214 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Ending Medical Reversal by : Vinayak K. Prasad

Download or read book Ending Medical Reversal written by Vinayak K. Prasad and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2015-11 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Medications such as Vioxx and procedures such as vertebroplasty for back pain are among the medical "advances" that turned out to be dangerous or useless. What Dr. Vinayak K. Prasad and Dr. Adam S. Cifu call medical reversal happens when doctors start using a medication, procedure, or diagnostic tool without a robust evidence base—and then stop using it when it is found not to help, or even to harm, patients. In Ending Medical Reversal, Drs. Prasad and Cifu narrate fascinating stories from every corner of medicine to explore why medical reversals occur, how they are harmful, and what can be done to avoid them. They explore the difference between medical innovations that improve care and those that only appear to be promising. They also outline a comprehensive plan to reform medical education, research funding and protocols, and the process for approving new drugs that will ensure that more of what gets done in doctors' offices and hospitals is truly effective. "Every doctor should read this book."—JAMA Internal Medicine "[A]n excellent and realistic discussion of some of the horror stories that occur in medical practice . . . Highly recommended."—Choice "Ending Medical Reversal goes far in teaching medical students and practicing physicians alike how to learn on our own."—The Lancet "This has to be on the reading list for medical and nursing students."—Nursing Times "Ending Medical Reversal presents persuasive evidence that many current standard-of-care treatments are probably ineffective or harmful, thoroughly explains how such treatments came to be accepted, and proposes a number of ways to address the general problem (only some of which involve avaricious companies and mercenary physicians) and minimize its impact on a specific patient."—Journal of Clinical Research Best Practices "Dr. Prasad and Dr. Cifu offer a five-step plan, including pointers for determining if a given treatment is really able to do what you want it to do, and advice on finding a like-minded doctor who won't object to a certain amount of back-seat driving."—The New York Times "When I describe Ending Medical Reversal as revolutionary, I don't use the term lightly. Go out and read it—right now."—Common Sense Family Doctor "Should be considered for undergraduate reading lists. Keep a copy in the pharmacy or your briefcase as a great icebreaker or discussion point with other local healthcare professionals."—The Pharmaceutical Journal

Smart Health Choices

Download Smart Health Choices PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Judy Irwig
ISBN 13 : 1905140177
Total Pages : 255 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (51 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Smart Health Choices by : Les Irwig

Download or read book Smart Health Choices written by Les Irwig and published by Judy Irwig. This book was released on 2008 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Every day we make decisions about our health - some big and some small. What we eat, how we live and even where we live can affect our health. But how can we be sure that the advice we are given about these important matters is right for us? This book will provide you with the right tools for assessing health advice.

What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear

Download What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Beacon Press
ISBN 13 : 0807062642
Total Pages : 250 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (7 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear by : Danielle Ofri, MD

Download or read book What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear written by Danielle Ofri, MD and published by Beacon Press. This book was released on 2017-02-07 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can refocusing conversations between doctors and their patients lead to better health? Despite modern medicine’s infatuation with high-tech gadgetry, the single most powerful diagnostic tool is the doctor-patient conversation, which can uncover the lion’s share of illnesses. However, what patients say and what doctors hear are often two vastly different things. Patients, anxious to convey their symptoms, feel an urgency to “make their case” to their doctors. Doctors, under pressure to be efficient, multitask while patients speak and often miss the key elements. Add in stereotypes, unconscious bias, conflicting agendas, and fear of lawsuits and the risk of misdiagnosis and medical errors multiplies dangerously. Though the gulf between what patients say and what doctors hear is often wide, Dr. Danielle Ofri proves that it doesn’t have to be. Through the powerfully resonant human stories that Dr. Ofri’s writing is renowned for, she explores the high-stakes world of doctor-patient communication that we all must navigate. Reporting on the latest research studies and interviewing scholars, doctors, and patients, Dr. Ofri reveals how better communication can lead to better health for all of us.

No Apparent Distress: A Doctor's Coming of Age on the Front Lines of American Medicine

Download No Apparent Distress: A Doctor's Coming of Age on the Front Lines of American Medicine PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN 13 : 0393249255
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (932 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis No Apparent Distress: A Doctor's Coming of Age on the Front Lines of American Medicine by : Rachel Pearson

Download or read book No Apparent Distress: A Doctor's Coming of Age on the Front Lines of American Medicine written by Rachel Pearson and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2017-05-09 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A brutally frank memoir about doctors and patients in a health care system that puts the poor at risk. No Apparent Distress begins with a mistake made by a white medical student that may have hastened the death of a working-class black man who sought care in a student-run clinic. Haunted by this error, the author—herself from a working-class background—delves into the stories and politics of a medical training system in which students learn on the bodies of the poor. Part confession, part family history, No Apparent Distress is at once an indictment of American health care and a deeply moving tale of one doctor’s coming-of-age.

When We Do Harm

Download When We Do Harm PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Beacon Press
ISBN 13 : 0807037885
Total Pages : 274 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (7 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis When We Do Harm by : Danielle Ofri, MD

Download or read book When We Do Harm written by Danielle Ofri, MD and published by Beacon Press. This book was released on 2020-03-23 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Medical mistakes are more pervasive than we think. How can we improve outcomes? An acclaimed MD’s rich stories and research explore patient safety. Patients enter the medical system with faith that they will receive the best care possible, so when things go wrong, it’s a profound and painful breach. Medical science has made enormous strides in decreasing mortality and suffering, but there’s no doubt that treatment can also cause harm, a significant portion of which is preventable. In When We Do Harm, practicing physician and acclaimed author Danielle Ofri places the issues of medical error and patient safety front and center in our national healthcare conversation. Drawing on current research, professional experience, and extensive interviews with nurses, physicians, administrators, researchers, patients, and families, Dr. Ofri explores the diagnostic, systemic, and cognitive causes of medical error. She advocates for strategic use of concrete safety interventions such as checklists and improvements to the electronic medical record, but focuses on the full-scale cultural and cognitive shifts required to make a meaningful dent in medical error. Woven throughout the book are the powerfully human stories that Dr. Ofri is renowned for. The errors she dissects range from the hardly noticeable missteps to the harrowing medical cataclysms. While our healthcare system is—and always will be—imperfect, Dr. Ofri argues that it is possible to minimize preventable harms, and that this should be the galvanizing issue of current medical discourse.

What Doctors Feel

Download What Doctors Feel PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Beacon Press
ISBN 13 : 0807073334
Total Pages : 267 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (7 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis What Doctors Feel by : Danielle Ofri, MD

Download or read book What Doctors Feel written by Danielle Ofri, MD and published by Beacon Press. This book was released on 2013-06-04 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A fascinating journey into the heart and mind of a physician” that explores the doctor-patient relationship, the flaws in our health care system, and how doctors’ emotions impact medical care (Boston Globe) While much has been written about the minds and methods of the medical professionals who save our lives, precious little has been said about their emotions. Physicians are assumed to be objective, rational beings, easily able to detach as they guide patients and families through some of life’s most challenging moments. But understanding doctors’ emotional responses to the life-and-death dramas of everyday practice can make all the difference on giving and getting the best medical care. Digging deep into the lives of doctors, Dr. Danielle Ofri examines the daunting range of emotions—shame, anger, empathy, frustration, hope, pride, occasionally despair, and sometimes even love—that permeate the contemporary doctor-patient connection. Drawing on scientific studies, including some surprising research, Dr. Ofri offers up an unflinching look at the impact of emotions on health care. Dr. Ofri takes us into the swirling heart of patient care, telling stories of caregivers caught up and occasionally torn down by the whirlwind life of doctoring. She admits to the humiliation of an error that nearly killed one of her patients. She mourns when a beloved patient is denied a heart transplant. She tells the riveting stories of an intern traumatized when she is forced to let a newborn die in her arms, and of a doctor whose daily glass of wine to handle the frustrations of the ER escalates into a destructive addiction. Ofri also reveals that doctors cope through gallows humor, find hope in impossible situations, and surrender to ecstatic happiness when they triumph over illness.

Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors?

Download Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors? PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Henry Holt and Company (BYR)
ISBN 13 : 1466831790
Total Pages : 44 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (668 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors? by : Tanya Lee Stone

Download or read book Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors? written by Tanya Lee Stone and published by Henry Holt and Company (BYR). This book was released on 2013-02-19 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 1830s, when a brave and curious girl named Elizabeth Blackwell was growing up, women were supposed to be wives and mothers. Some women could be teachers or seamstresses, but career options were few. Certainly no women were doctors. But Elizabeth refused to accept the common beliefs that women weren't smart enough to be doctors, or that they were too weak for such hard work. And she would not take no for an answer. Although she faced much opposition, she worked hard and finally—when she graduated from medical school and went on to have a brilliant career—proved her detractors wrong. This inspiring story of the first female doctor shows how one strong-willed woman opened the doors for all the female doctors to come. Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors? by Tanya Lee Stone is an NPR Best Book of 2013 This title has common core connections.

Unequal Treatment

Download Unequal Treatment PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 030908265X
Total Pages : 781 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (9 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Unequal Treatment by : Institute of Medicine

Download or read book Unequal Treatment written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2009-02-06 with total page 781 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Racial and ethnic disparities in health care are known to reflect access to care and other issues that arise from differing socioeconomic conditions. There is, however, increasing evidence that even after such differences are accounted for, race and ethnicity remain significant predictors of the quality of health care received. In Unequal Treatment, a panel of experts documents this evidence and explores how persons of color experience the health care environment. The book examines how disparities in treatment may arise in health care systems and looks at aspects of the clinical encounter that may contribute to such disparities. Patients' and providers' attitudes, expectations, and behavior are analyzed. How to intervene? Unequal Treatment offers recommendations for improvements in medical care financing, allocation of care, availability of language translation, community-based care, and other arenas. The committee highlights the potential of cross-cultural education to improve provider-patient communication and offers a detailed look at how to integrate cross-cultural learning within the health professions. The book concludes with recommendations for data collection and research initiatives. Unequal Treatment will be vitally important to health care policymakers, administrators, providers, educators, and students as well as advocates for people of color.

Improving Diagnosis in Health Care

Download Improving Diagnosis in Health Care PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309377722
Total Pages : 473 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (93 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Improving Diagnosis in Health Care by : National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Download or read book Improving Diagnosis in Health Care written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2015-12-29 with total page 473 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Getting the right diagnosis is a key aspect of health care - it provides an explanation of a patient's health problem and informs subsequent health care decisions. The diagnostic process is a complex, collaborative activity that involves clinical reasoning and information gathering to determine a patient's health problem. According to Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, diagnostic errors-inaccurate or delayed diagnoses-persist throughout all settings of care and continue to harm an unacceptable number of patients. It is likely that most people will experience at least one diagnostic error in their lifetime, sometimes with devastating consequences. Diagnostic errors may cause harm to patients by preventing or delaying appropriate treatment, providing unnecessary or harmful treatment, or resulting in psychological or financial repercussions. The committee concluded that improving the diagnostic process is not only possible, but also represents a moral, professional, and public health imperative. Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, a continuation of the landmark Institute of Medicine reports To Err Is Human (2000) and Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001), finds that diagnosis-and, in particular, the occurrence of diagnostic errorsâ€"has been largely unappreciated in efforts to improve the quality and safety of health care. Without a dedicated focus on improving diagnosis, diagnostic errors will likely worsen as the delivery of health care and the diagnostic process continue to increase in complexity. Just as the diagnostic process is a collaborative activity, improving diagnosis will require collaboration and a widespread commitment to change among health care professionals, health care organizations, patients and their families, researchers, and policy makers. The recommendations of Improving Diagnosis in Health Care contribute to the growing momentum for change in this crucial area of health care quality and safety.

Research on Women's Health

Download Research on Women's Health PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 84 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (173 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Research on Women's Health by :

Download or read book Research on Women's Health written by and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

First, Do No Harm

Download First, Do No Harm PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1982173394
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (821 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis First, Do No Harm by : Lisa Belkin

Download or read book First, Do No Harm written by Lisa Belkin and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-02-16 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Crammed with provocative insights, raw emotion, and heartbreaking dilemmas,” (The New York Times) First, Do No Harm is a powerful examination of how life and death decisions are made at a major metropolitan hospital in Houston, as told through the stories of doctors, patients, families, and hospital administrators facing unthinkable choices. What is life worth? And when is a life worth living? Journalist Lisa Belkin examines how these questions are asked and answered over one dramatic summer at Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas. In an account that is fascinating, revealing, and almost novelistic in its immediacy, Belkin takes us inside a major hospital and introduces us to the people who must make life and death decisions every day. As we walk through the hallways of the hospital we meet a young pediatrician who must decide whether to perform a risky last-ditch surgery on a teenager who has spent most of his fifteen years in a hospital; we watch as new parents battle with doctors over whether to disconnect their fragile, premature twins from the machine that keeps them breathing; we are in the operating room as a poor immigrant, paralyzed from a gunshot in the neck, is asked by doctors whether or not he wishes to stay alive; we witness the worry of a kidney specialist as he decides whether or not to transfer an uninsured baby to the county hospital down the road. We experience critical moments in the lives of these real people as Belkin explores challenging issues and questions involving medical ethics, human suffering, modern technology, legal liability, and financial reality. As medical technology advances, the choices grow more complicated. How far should we go to save a life? Who decides? And who pays?

Ethics, Conflict and Medical Treatment for Children E-Book

Download Ethics, Conflict and Medical Treatment for Children E-Book PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Elsevier Health Sciences
ISBN 13 : 0702077828
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (2 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Ethics, Conflict and Medical Treatment for Children E-Book by : Dominic Wilkinson

Download or read book Ethics, Conflict and Medical Treatment for Children E-Book written by Dominic Wilkinson and published by Elsevier Health Sciences. This book was released on 2018-08-05 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What should happen when doctors and parents disagree about what would be best for a child? When should courts become involved? Should life support be stopped against parents’ wishes? The case of Charlie Gard, reached global attention in 2017. It led to widespread debate about the ethics of disagreements between doctors and parents, about the place of the law in such disputes, and about the variation in approach between different parts of the world. In this book, medical ethicists Dominic Wilkinson and Julian Savulescu critically examine the ethical questions at the heart of disputes about medical treatment for children. They use the Gard case as a springboard to a wider discussion about the rights of parents, the harms of treatment, and the vital issue of limited resources. They discuss other prominent UK and international cases of disagreement and conflict. From opposite sides of the debate Wilkinson and Savulescu provocatively outline the strongest arguments in favour of and against treatment. They analyse some of the distinctive and challenging features of treatment disputes in the 21st century and argue that disagreement about controversial ethical questions is both inevitable and desirable. They outline a series of lessons from the Gard case and propose a radical new ‘dissensus’ framework for future cases of disagreement. This new book critically examines the core ethical questions at the heart of disputes about medical treatment for children. The contents review prominent cases of disagreement from the UK and internationally and analyse some of the distinctive and challenging features around treatment disputes in the 21st century. The book proposes a radical new framework for future cases of disagreement around the care of gravely ill people.

Family Doctors Say Goodbye

Download Family Doctors Say Goodbye PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3031336542
Total Pages : 172 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (313 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Family Doctors Say Goodbye by : Lucy M. Candib

Download or read book Family Doctors Say Goodbye written by Lucy M. Candib and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-08-17 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book considers the family doctor relationship and the process of ending that relationship. What happens when a family doctor or someone like them, deeply committed to long-term relationships, decides to end those commitments? What’s involved? What are the embodied experiences for doctor and patient, for doctor and staff, for physician leader and others? What comes next? This book invites the reader to immerse in personal stories and reflections of family physicians who choose to retire from practice, depart long-standing leadership roles, or shift from one place of deep relational commitments to something else. These stories concern the particulars of family medicine and general practice, but they share much with any vocation rooted in the duties, challenges, and rewards of relationships bound by covenant and not transaction. This book is relevant to all professionals involved in healing relationships.