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Medical Writings |1 December 2009

Only 10 Seconds to Care: Help and Hope for Busy Clinicians

Howard S. Smith, MD

Article, Author, and Disclosure Information
Author, Article, and Disclosure Information

Structured abstracts of information on newly published books are provided in this portion of Medical Writings.

Structured abstracts of information on newly published books are provided in this portion of Medical Writings.

  • From Albany Medical College, Albany, New York.
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Harpham WS. 195 pages. Philadelphia: American Coll of Physicians; 2009. $26.95. ISBN 9781934465394. Order at www.acponline.org.
Field of medicine: Palliative medicine.
Format: Softcover book.
Audience: General internists, oncologists, and palliative medicine specialists.
Purpose: To provide practical, quick tips on patient communication with compassion in busy clinical practice.
Content: Harpham describes personal and other vignettes, stories, and tips in an attempt to provide insight into various patient concerns, fears, thoughts, and emotions. The first 3 chapters correspond to the author's 3 steps to healthy survivorship: knowledge, hope, and action. The last 2 chapters address ways that clinicians may be helpful to patients with issues surrounding meaning and happiness in their lives.
Highlights: The book provides practical tips for effective compassionate patient communication. These “tips” are well illustrated through patient stories or vignettes. Furthermore, sections of each chapter end with 3 key summary points intended to improve the overall clinician–patient relationship.
Limitations: Although the book provides several helpful tips for improving compassionate communication with patients, it is incomplete, lacks rigor, and does not deal with the material in a standard medical text manner with evidence and references.
Related reading: Groopman's How Doctors Think (Houghton Mifflin, 2007), Harpham's When a Parent Has Cancer: A Guide to Caring for Your Children (HarperCollins, 1997), and Gawande's Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science (Picador, 2003).
Reviewer: Howard S. Smith, MD, Albany Medical College, Albany, New York.
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Smith HS. Only 10 Seconds to Care: Help and Hope for Busy Clinicians. Ann Intern Med. 2009;151:828. doi: https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-151-11-200912010-00031

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Published: Ann Intern Med. 2009;151(11):828.

DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-151-11-200912010-00031

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Print ISSN: 0003-4819 | Online ISSN: 1539-3704

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