Field Guide to the Difficult Patient Interview

by Frederic W. Platt, Geoffrey H. Gordon

Written by physicians skilled at coaching colleagues in physician-patient communication, this pocket guide presents practical strategies for handling a wide variety of difficult patient interviews. Each chapter presents a hypothetical scenario, describes effective communication techniques for each phase of the interaction, and identifies pitfalls to avoid. The presentation includes examples of physician-patient dialogue, illustrations showing body language, and key references.

This edition includes new chapters on caring for physician-patients, communicating with colleagues, disclosing unexpected outcomes and medical errors, shared decision making and informed consent, and teaching communication skills. Other new chapters describe clinical attitudes such as patience, curiosity, and hope.

320 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 1999

Reviews

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Small and expensive, at first I wasn't impressed, but section two had some amazing stuff. Unfortunately, the amazing stuff was all in section two.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why am I reading this when I have no apparent ties to the medical field whatsoever? That's the beauty of consulting... You never know what topic you will be researching next!