From Chekhov to Maugham to William Carlos Williams, doctors have long given voice to their unique perspectives through literature. Writer, M.D. celebrates this rich tradition with a collection of fiction and nonfiction by today’s most beloved physician-writers, including, • Abraham Verghese, on the lost art of the physical exam • Pauline Chen, on the bond between a med student and her first cadaver • Atul Gawande, on the ethical dilemmas of a young surgical intern • Danielle Ofri, on the devastation of losing a patient • Ethan Canin, on love, poetry, and growing old These essays and stories illuminate the inner lives of men and women who deal with trauma, illness, mortality, and grief on a daily basis. Read together, they provide a candid, moving, one-of-a-kind glimpse behind the doctor’s mask.

‘This is a book for doctors and patients – that is, the lot of us – to relish.’ – Thomas Keneally It is through writing that many doctors have plumbed the depths and richness of their experiences and, in turn, used this to explore their patients’ inner lives. Differential Diagnosis is a unique collection of fiction and non-fiction by doctor–writers that gives us a fascinating look behind the doctor’s mask, and gets inside the minds of those who deal with enormous existential issues and traumatic situations on a daily basis. These stories canvass emotional experiences acutely felt by doctors: an awareness of our mortality, of how humanity interplays with medicine, of the weight of responsibility carried by the profession. They bring into sharp focus, in many cases, the point of view of the patient, illuminating the experience of grief, trauma, illness, and ageing that doctors witness through their work. Contributors: Ethan Canin, Nick Earls, Atul Gawande, Peter Goldsworthy, Jacinta Halloran, Sandeep Jauhar, Leah Kaminsky, Perri Klass, Robert Jay Lifton, John Murray, Danielle Ofri, Oliver Sacks, Abraham Verghese, Gabriel Weston, Irvin Yalom

The first edition of this book (titled “The Clinician’s Guide to Medical Writing”) has become a standard in its field and remains an indispensible reference for any clinician, academic physician, or health professional who wishes to hone their writing skills. However, since its publication in 2004, significant changes have taken place in the way medical professionals communicate with each other and the world. Medical Writing: A Guide for Clinicians and Academicians, 2e retains all of the fundamental writing advice of the first edition and has been expanded to include two brand new chapters: How to Write a Research Protocol (including why a research project needs a written protocol, elements of the research protocol and common problems) How to Write a Grant Proposal (including sections on government and private grant funding sources, what you need to know about grant writing, and elements of a successful grant proposal) New information is also included throughout the book on becoming a successful writer, medical tables and figures, conflict of interest and disclosures, how to review a scientific article, statistical analysis, “pay-to-publish” journal publishing, electronic submission of manuscripts, issues in medical publishing and the future of medical writing and publication. New appendices address commonly encountered research and statistical terms and memorable aphorisms regarding writing, medical and otherwise.

Barbara Gastel, physician and acclaimed medical journalist, has prepared an expanded, enhanced second edition of Health Writer's Handbook. Fully updated, the latest edition of this trusted handbook has grown by nearly 100 pages, solidifying its reputation as a "practical guide packed with specifics on how to write about health intelligently and with sensitivity" (Nieman Reports). Examples of exemplary health writing now abound with insightful annotated comments. "Medical Reporting for the Electronic Media" (contributed by Tom Linden, M.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) addresses health reporting for television, radio, and the Internet. Also new to this edition is coverage of legal matters in the retitled "Ethical and Legal Issues" chapter. Journalistic exercises bring chapters to a close giving the reader opportunities to apply the principles presented. Health Writer's Handbook, Second Edition is a reference guide and textbook all in one, invaluable to experienced health writers looking to improve their writing and to students beginning their study in medical journalism.

Amber accidentally mails a very old letter she finds in the family's 100-year old house, and the next day, receives a ghostly reply.

New York Times bestseller Business Book of the Year--Association of Business Journalists From the New York Times bestselling author comes an eye-opening, urgent look at America's broken health care system--and the people who are saving it--now with a new Afterword by the author. "A must-read for every American." --Steve Forbes, editor-in-chief, FORBES One in five Americans now has medical debt in collections and rising health care costs today threaten every small business in America. Dr. Makary, one of the nation's leading health care experts, travels across America and details why health care has become a bubble. Drawing from on-the-ground stories, his research, and his own experience, The Price We Pay paints a vivid picture of the business of medicine and its elusive money games in need of a serious shake-up. Dr. Makary shows how so much of health care spending goes to things that have nothing to do with health and what you can do about it. Dr. Makary challenges the medical establishment to remember medicine's noble heritage of caring for people when they are vulnerable. The Price We Pay offers a road map for everyday Americans and business leaders to get a better deal on their health care, and profiles the disruptors who are innovating medical care. The movement to restore medicine to its mission, Makary argues, is alive and well--a mission that can rebuild the public trust and save our country from the crushing cost of health care.

Create Convincing Characters That Readers—and Editors—Can't Resist! It's the question that eternally plagues all good writers: How can you describe the thoughts and feelings of characters who have backgrounds or psychological aberrations with which you have no personal experience? How can you describe the feelings of a drug addict if you've never been one? How can you write about being a prisoner if you've never been to jail? You can do all the research you want, but the question still remains: How do you convincingly portray characters if you've never lived in their skin? In Breathing Life Into Your Characters, writing consultant and professional psychotherapist Rachel Ballon, Ph. D., shows you how to get in touch with the thoughts and feelings necessary to truly understand your characters—no matter what their background or life experiences. She'll show you how to: • Develop a psychological profile for every character • Turn archetypes into conflicted characters • Think like a criminal to convincingly write one • Reveal personalities through the use of nonverbal communication In addition, you'll learn how to effectively use Ballon's "Method Writing" system—taught previously only in her writing workshops—to explore your own feelings, memories, and emotions to create characters of astonishing depth and complexity!

The candid combination of personal experience and doctor-to-doctor advice in this book helps readers interested in non-clinical careers for physicians navigate the five phases of their physician career change: introspection, exploration, preparation, acquisition, and transition. JUST A FEW OF THE 60+ QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN THIS BOOK: 1. How did you decide what you wanted to do? 2. What are my options outside of clinical practice? 3. What medical specialties are in highest demand? 4. What types of resources are available to explore non-clinical options? 5. What job titles are the ones for physicians? 6. How much money can a physician make in a non-clinical job? 7. How did you network? 8. What questions did you ask during a networking call? 9. What skills transfer well to a non-clinical job? 10. How can I "beef up" my resume? 11. Should I get an MBA? 12. Is geography and willingness to relocate an issue? 13. What should I emphasize in an introductory letter? 14. What should I emphasize in my resume/CV? 15. What do you look for when interviewing an applicant? 16. How did you know that you were making the right decision? 17. How did your family react? 18. How did your colleagues react? 19. Did you have to take a pay cut? 20. How did you know you were choosing the right job? 21. In what ways do physicians struggle after transitioning? 22. What have been the biggest surprises since your career transition? 23. Looking back on the transition, what would you do differently now? 24. What advice do you have for physicians considering a career transition? 25. Do you feel like you wasted all that training? Please also visit Physician Renaissance Network at PRNresource.com for comprehensive information about non-clinical careers for physicians, physician career change, physician consulting, and physician entrepreneurism. FROM THE AUTHOR: In 2001 I did something deemed unthinkable by my peers; I left my plastic surgery practice to begin working in a non-clinical career, medical communications. At first I knew nothing about the large number of non-clinical careers for physicians, or where to find out about them. Most importantly, I did not know any non-clinical physicians working in these industries. Going through a physician career change was completely foreign territory Now, as co-owner of a medical communications company, I am exposed to various types of non-clinical careers for physicians and speak with many clinicians who are interested in their own physician career change. Although I once considered myself an anomaly, I now have a better sense of the growing number of physicians in non-clinical careers and the endless opportunities available. I wrote this book and speak about physician career change and non-clinical careers for physicians to help others avoid the obstacles I faced. BACK COVER: "Physicians are used to linear career paths, formalized educational programs, and textbooks. Our careers typically progress through a predictable series of decision points, each complete with a road map for the next several years and a bibliography of recommended reading. Stepping out of a clinical career path can open up an endless set of options with no road map - a seemingly daunting proposition for the physician mindset." EXCERPTS: "I felt stuck for so long, as though I had spent most of my life moving in the wrong direction. I was frustrated with myself. How could I become so trapped?" "Leaving clinical practice was like finally breaking the surface and emerging into the sunlight after holding my breath under water for years." "My career transition was liberating. For the first time since starting medical school, I was extremely excited about my future career path. Interestingly, medical communications would draw upon my knowledge from the past. Leaving clinical practice would not mean that my past efforts in medicine would be thrown away. I was not going to be "wasting all those years of training."

This book is for the clinician who wants to write. It is for the physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner who sees patients and who wants to contribute to the medical l- erature. You may be an assistant professor aspiring to p- motion or a clinician in private practice who seeks the personal enrichment that writing can bring. If you are new to medical writing or even if you have been the author of some articles or book chapters and seek to improve your abilities, this book can help you. Who am I that I can make this assertion and write this book, both fairly presumptuous? Here’s my reasoning. As a practicing physician, writing has been my avocation; unlike the authors of many other writing books, I am not a journal editor. Over 14 years in private practice and 26 years in a- demic medicine, I have written all the major models described in this book: review articles, case reports, edito- als, letters to the editor, book reviews, book chapters, edited books, authored books, and reports of clinical research st- ies. Most have been published. Not all. Perhaps my most signi?cant quali?cation is not that I have managed to p- duce a lengthy curriculum vitae. In my opinion, what is more important for you, the reader, is that I have made all the errors. That’s right, the mistakes.

A coming-of-age novel in verse set in 1980s Southern California, about a Persian American girl who rides the waves, falls, and finds her way back to the shore Thirteen-year-old Ava loves to surf and to sing. Singing and reading Rumi poems settle her mild OCD, and catching waves with her best friend, Phoenix, lets her fit in—her olive skin looks tan, not foreign. But then Ava has to spend the summer before ninth grade volunteering at the hospital, to follow in her single mother’s footsteps to become a doctor. And when Phoenix’s past lymphoma surges back, not even surfing, singing, or poetry can keep them afloat, threatening Ava’s hold on the one place and the one person that make her feel like she belongs. With ocean-like rhythm and lyricism, Wave is about a girl who rides the waves, tumbles, and finds her way back to the shore.