Searching for the Family Doctor


Book Description

With family doctors increasingly overburdened, bureaucratized, and burned out, how can the field change before it's too late? Over the past few decades, as American medical practice has become increasingly specialized, the number of generalists—doctors who care for the whole person—has plummeted. On paper, family medicine sounds noble; in practice, though, the field is so demanding in scope and substance, and the health system so favorable to specialists, that it cannot be fulfilled by most doctors. In Searching for the Family Doctor, Timothy J. Hoff weaves together the early history of the family practice specialty in the United States with the personal narratives of modern-day family doctors. By formalizing this area of practice and instituting specialist-level training requirements, the originators of family practice hoped to increase respect for generalists, improve the pipeline of young medical graduates choosing primary care, and, in so doing, have a major positive impact on the way patients receive care. Drawing on in-depth interviews with fifty-five family doctors, Hoff shows us how these medical professionals have had their calling transformed not only by the indifferent acts of an unsupportive health care system but by the hand of their own medical specialty—a specialty that has chosen to pursue short- over long-term viability, conformity over uniqueness, and protectionism over collaboration. A specialty unable to innovate to keep its membership cohesive and focused on fulfilling the generalist ideal. The family doctor, Hoff explains, was conceived of as a powered-up version of the "country doctor" idea. At a time when doctor-patient relationships are evaporating in the face of highly transactional, fast-food-style medical practice, this ideal seems both nostalgic and revolutionary. However, the realities of highly bureaucratic reimbursement and quality-of-care requirements, educational debt, and ongoing consolidation of the old-fashioned independent doctor's office into corporate health systems have stacked the deck against the altruists and true believers who are drawn to the profession of family practice. As more family doctors wind up working for big health care corporations, their career paths grow more parochial, balkanizing the specialty. Their work roles and professional identities are increasingly niche-oriented. Exploring how to save primary care by giving family doctors a fighting chance to become the generalists we need in our lives, Searching for the Family Doctor is required reading for anyone interested in the troubled state of modern medicine.




Textbook of Family Medicine


Book Description

Offers guidance on the principles of family medicine, primary care in the community, and various aspects of clinical practice. Suitable for both residents and practicing physicians, this title includes evidence-based, practical information to optimize your patient care and prepare you for the ABFM exam.




Family-Oriented Primary Care


Book Description

A family orientation in health care can provide a wider understanding of illness and a broader range of solutions than the classic biomedical model. This volume thus offers practical guidance for the physician who would like to take greater advantage of this resource. The result is a readable guide, structured around step-by-step protocols that are vividly illustrated with case studies drawn from the authors extensive experience at the University of Rochester School of Medicine.




My Whole Life and 48 Years of Small Town Family Medical Practice


Book Description

Tanner's book begins with his formative years in Missouri and Georgia during the 1920s and 1930s. As a young man, Tanner begins college in Virginia and then leaves for the island of Saipan during World War II. Upon his return, his medical career began in earnest as he is accepted to the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. His internship in Saint Petersburg, Florida landed him in family practice in Auburndale, Florida in 1955 where he spent his career with a number of various patients and their problems.Tanner's memories are gathered from scribbling notes and patients' comments on bits.




Start Your Own Medical Practice


Book Description

After years of school and maybe even after some years of practice, you are ready to do it on your own. Running a profitable business takes more than just being a great doctor. Start Your Own Medical Practice provides you with the knowledge to be both a great doctor and a successful business owner. Whether you are looking to open a single practice office or wanting to go into partnership with other colleagues, picking the right location, hiring the right support staff and taking care of all the finances are not easy tasks. With help from Start Your Own Medical Practice, you can be sure you are making the best decisions for success. Don't let a wrong choice slow down your progress. Find advice to: --Create a Business Plan --Manage the Office --Raise Capital --Bill Your Patients --Market Your Practice --Build a Patient Base --Prevent Malpractice Suits --Keep an Eye on the Goal With checklists, sample letters and doctor's office forms, Start Your Own Medical Practice teaches you all the things they didn't in medical school and gives you the confidence to go out and do it on your own.




Talking with Patients and Families about Medical Error


Book Description

More than a million patient safety incidents occur every year, and medical error is the third leading cause of death in the United States. Illuminating the experiences of those affected by medical error—patients, their loved ones, and physicians and other medical professionals—Talking with Patients and Families about Medical Error delves deeply into the challenges of communicating honestly and openly about mistakes in medical practice. cc Based on guidelines from the Institute for Professional and Ethical Practice and the authors' own experiences, the practice-based approaches outlined here offer concrete guidance on • initiating discussions • dealing professionally and compassionately with patients' reactions • who should be included in the conversation • what information should be documented in the medical record • how to respond to questions about financial compensation Aimed at promoting resolution and healing, this book stresses the importance of clear, empathetic communication that will improve clinical and organizational responses to medical missteps and mismanagement. It emphasizes five features of the physician-patient relationship deserving of special attention: transparency, respect, accountability, continuity, and kindness (TRACK). Narrative examples of common situations demonstrate how conversations about medical error can lead to healing.







SOAP for Family Medicine


Book Description

Offering step-by-step guidance on how to properly document patient care, this updated Second Edition presents 90 of the most common clinical problems encountered on the wards and clinics in an easy-to-read, two-page layout using the familiar "SOAP" note format. Emphasizing the patient’s clinical problem, not the diagnosis, this pocket-sized quick reference teaches both clinical reasoning and documentation skills and is ideal for use by medical students, Pas, and NPs during the Family Medicine rotation.




McWhinney's Textbook of Family Medicine


Book Description

'McWhinney's Textbook of Family Medicine' is one of the seminal texts in the field, defining the principles and practices of family medicine as a distinct field of practice. The fourth edition presents six new clinical chapters of common problems in family medicine.




The Family in Medical Practice


Book Description

My practice life has spanned 36 years and during that time I have been involved in untangling countless mysterious maladies-or at least trying to do so. All of these efforts were without the benefit of any formal training about family systems. I am greatly encouraged by this book because it first draws attention to the intricate web that mankind has woven for itself. The family physician has often been caught up in this web, and therefore rendered impotent. Efforts to understand all of this are to be applauded. It has been my good fortune to know the editors, Leonard Roberts and Michael Crouch and, as a family physician, I feel that their "hearts are in the right place." They have grown up, medically speaking, in an era when society has become more complex, where life is not easy. Birth and its medical participants are suspect; childhood is complicated by divorce and loneliness; adolescence is a time of aimless searching; young adults are hard pressed to earn a living; the quality of life is being threatened somewhat by the overgrowth of high technology; dying with dignity is at a premium. The editors are to be commended for helping us clarify the role of the family physician in all of this.