How Doctors Think  (English, Paperback, Groopman Jerome)

How Doctors Think is an informative and insightful book that explores doctor-patient interactions and the art of clinical decision making and its repercussions, with valuable advice on how to improve interpersonal skills and bridging the communication gap.

Summary Of The Book

A comprehensive read for anyone interested in the field of medicine, How Doctors Think scrutinizes the way in which doctors think, interact and communicate with each other, their staff, and their patients, with an emphasis on the fact that doctors are only human, and mistakes are made by them all.

With the help of thought-provoking articles and stories about the relationship between a doctor and his patient, misdiagnoses, and the critical importance of smooth communication between the two, the author tries to stress on the importance of listening to the patients during history-taking and trying not make assumptions on the doctors part. The patients must also be clear and concise whilst describing their symptoms and past illnesses, something that may seem insignificant to you might change the face of the diagnosis completely. It is a well-known fact that patients pay an imperative role in their own diagnoses. The author also explains why having sufficient self-awareness for a doctor can help him realise his errors.

There are various tips and solutions provided by the author, which he gleaned through first-hand experiences. These tips can help doctors channel their energy towards being more focused, more patient, calmer and thorough in their history-taking, thereby making their clinical skills more effective and avoiding any possible mistakes or misjudgements. There is a mention of the importance of emotions in clinical judgement. Doctors often ignore them because of the popular belief that emotions cloud judgements and clinical decisions must be made logically.

About Jerome Groopman

Dr. Jerome Groopman, MD, is a renowned author and staff writer. Groopman has authored The Measure of Our Days, Second Opinions, The Anatomy of Hope and Your Medical Mind.

Groopman has worked at the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research as a consultant. His book, How Doctors Think, won him The Quill Book Award and Books for a Better Life Award. He has worked as a staff writer in biology and medicine for The New Yorker, apart from writing editorials for Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, and The Washington Post. He is on the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Advisory Council for matters related to AIDS. He is the Chief of Experimental Medicine at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and holds Harvard Medical School’s Dina and Raphael Recanati Chair of Medicine. He currently lives in Massachusetts with his wife.