The more we know about medicine, the more we realize that many health questions have no one true answer. Realizing this, and thinking carefully about how medicine asks patients to treat their conditions, leads us to some questions. How reliable are the guidelines that might form the basis of doctors’ advice? Is it wrong, after all, to base an approach to medicine on patients’ preferences? And, given that there is often a distance between the treatment a doctor advises and what a patient would like to do, how do we bridge the gap—especially in a health culture of inequality, technical proficiency, and increasing costs? In practical, engaging, narrative-driven chapters about common health conditions that millions of Americans are familiar with—depression and high blood pressure, arthritis and diabetes—Dr. Zackary Berger of Johns Hopkins demystifies the often bewildering disconnect between patients and doctors and asks us all to think more clearly about how best to protect and cure the human body.

The first 72 hours following assessment and admission to the emergency department are crucial to a patient's care. As the medical practitioner on duty, you need good diagnostic skills and the ability to formulate a quick, safe and appropriate management plan. Making Sense of Acute Medicine is here to help. This book is the perfect introduction to accurate diagnosis for medical students, newly qualified doctors and anyone intimately involved with the delivery of acute medical care. By focusing on the decision-making process in relation to common clinical presentations, Making Sense of Acute Medicine will assist you to: take an accurate history and examine the patient with a focused approach make appropriate investigations requests formulate suitable management plans

This 1998 book contains historical essays about how diseases change their meaning.

Do you want to know what a parametric test is and when not to perform one? Do you get confused between odds ratios and relative risks? Want to understand the difference between sensitivity and specificity? Would like to find out what the fuss is about Bayes' theorem? Then this book is for you! Physicians need to understand the principles behind medical statistics. They don't need to learn the formula. The software knows it already! This book explains the fundamental concepts of medical statistics so that the learner will become confident in performing the most commonly used statistical tests. Each chapter is rich in anecdotes, illustrations, questions, and answers. Not enough? There is more material online with links to free statistical software, webpages, multimedia content, a practice dataset to get hands-on with data analysis, and a Single Best Answer questionnaire for the exam.

This text provides practical guidelines on how to make sense of and interpret the evidence that is available, with information on how to avoid straying beyond evidence into conjecture, supposition, and wishful thinking. It covers size, trial design, harm as well as benefit, and health economics and management evidence.

The practice of clinical medicine is inextricably linked with the need for moral values and ethical principles. The study of medical ethics is, therefore, rightly assuming an increasingly significant place in undergraduate and postgraduate medical courses and in allied health curricula. Making Sense of Medical Ethics offers a no-nonsense introduction to the principles of medial ethics, as applied to the everyday care of patients, the development of novel therapies and the undertaking of pioneering basic medical research. Written from a practical rather than a philosophical perspective, the authors call upon their extensive experience of clinical practice, research and teaching to illustrate how ethical principles can be applied in different 'real-life' situations. Making Sense of Medical Ethics encourages readers to understand the principles of medical ethics as they apply to clinical practice; explore and evaluate common misconceptions; consider the ethics underlying any medical decision; and as a result, to realize that a good appreciation of medical ethics will help them to practise more effectively in the future.

Medicine is an extremely competitive field, and whilst some specialties will always prove more popular than others, the competition is set to increase across all areas. If you are serious about succeeding in medicine then Making Sense of Your Medical Career is the book for you. This practical guide is packed with invaluable career information, and takes time to explain carefully the best path to career success. Key Features · Universal approach, applicable across all specialties · Unbiased and impartial advice · Easy-to-read and informal style · Step-by-step advice in how to build an effective CV · Practical examples from expert contributing authors · Handy tips on getting short-listed and selected for competitive posts · Further information and support on www.yourmedicalcareer.com This book will help you to answer difficult questions: · Should I do an intercalated BSc and what are the costs, benefits and alternatives? · How do I get funding for an intercalated BSc and elective? · How do I organise a successful elective? · How do I write and publish a scientific paper or book? · How do I get the most out of my time at medical school? · How do I manage my time, finances and stress? · What will I be asked at an interview? · How can I make myself stand out from the crowd? Making Sense of Your Medical Career is the ultimate passport to a successful career in medicine. "We have no doubt that any medical student would benefit from reading this book and so would many of their teachers....it is a remarkable achievement and we believe that it justly merits a place on the student's personal bookshelf as well as in libraries everywhere." Sir Graeme Catto and Sir Barry Jackson

`This book is a "must read" for all students of health psychology, and will be of considerable interest and value to others interested in the field. The discipline has not involved itself with the central issues of this book so far, but Radley has now brought this material together in an accessible way, offering important new perspectives, and directions for the discipline. This book goes a long way towards making sense for, and of, health psychology′ - Journal of Health Psychology What are people′s beliefs about health? What do they do when they feel ill? Why do they go to the doctor? How do they live with chronic disease? This introduction to the social psychology of health and illness addresses these and other questions about how people make sense of illness in everyday life, either alone or with the help of others. Alan Radley reviews findings from medical sociology, health psychology and medical anthropology to demonstrate the relevance of social and psychological explanations to questions about disease and its treatment. Topics covered include: illness, the patient and society; ideas about health and staying healthy; recognizing symptoms and falling ill; and the healing relationship: patients, nurses and doctors. The author also presents a critical account of related issues - stress, health promotion and gender differences.

Orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Stephanie Siegrist, wrote KNOW YOUR BONES: Making Sense of Arthritis Medicine to give patients control over osteoarthritis pain. Now, you can understand what your doctor is talking about and help design the strategy that will restore your get-up-and-go. KNOW YOUR BONES will help you create a personalized treatment plan, tailored to you and your lifestyle. Read it from start to finish, or just refer to the drugs you currently use. Either way, you'll regain control of your symptoms, your treatment, and your costs!