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Medical Writings |3 November 2009

Mastering Communication with Seriously Ill Patients: Balancing Honesty with Empathy and Hope

Neil Abramson, MD

Article, Author, and Disclosure Information
Author, Article, and Disclosure Information
  • From Baptist Cancer Institute, Jacksonville, Florida.

Structured abstracts of information on newly published books are provided in this portion of Medical Writings.
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Structured abstracts of information on newly published books are provided in this portion of Medical Writings.
Back A, Arnold R, Tulsky J. 168 pages. New York: Cambridge Univ Pr; 2009. $45.00. ISBN 9780521706186. Order at www.cambridge.org/us/.
Field of medicine: Patient–physician communications, care of seriously ill patients, hematology and oncology, and death and dying.
Format: Paperback.
Audience: Clinicians, physician extenders, nurses, and medical students, as well as persons who communicate directly with patients, especially those with serious illnesses.
Purpose: To define the specific communication tasks involved in talking with patients with life-threatening illnesses and their families.
Content: The book presents a stepwise series of encounters between the physician and the patient, beginning with the initial consultation and progressing through typical clinical situations, such as options, decisions, and administration of therapy; assessment of responses; relapse; and the dying process. Interactions with office staff members are included as well. Each chapter highlights frequently encountered interpersonal dialogue, complemented by critical comments provided by the authors, and offers an outline of the approach and content as well as an abbreviated list of additional readings.
Highlights: The material that the authors review is valuable for physicians and health care extenders. The emotions of the physician and those of the patients are well documented and are expressed in a practical clinically relevant manner. This material should be especially useful for medical students and physicians in the postgraduate years. Although much of the information provided may seem obvious or simplistic to practicing physicians, all should benefit from...
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Abramson N. Mastering Communication with Seriously Ill Patients: Balancing Honesty with Empathy and Hope. Ann Intern Med. 2009;151:676. doi: https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-151-9-200911030-00025

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Published: Ann Intern Med. 2009;151(9):676.

DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-151-9-200911030-00025

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2009 American College of Physicians
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Print ISSN: 0003-4819 | Online ISSN: 1539-3704

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