How Doctors Think by Jerome E. Groopman (2007, Hardcover)

I picked up this book hoping for insight as a patient on how doctors think, but instead found a book that is written for someone with great medical experience. Even as a retired nurse I still had to look up unfamiliar medical terms/diagnosis/tests/thought process like heuristics*, when a simple sentence added to the paragraph would have easily made sense of the terms for a layperson. Dr Groopman is very fond of his excellent vocabulary and even I had to look up some of the "big" words and I consistently score excellent in the Reader's Digest Vocabulary Tests. Even the last chapter, which was more along the lines I thought the book would be is difficult to understand unless you had read the entire book. While I was able to grasp his reasoning someone without a medical background would probably have a hard time understanding key parts of the book. If you have a medical background or have been a patient with considerable medical problems this book is great in giving you insight into why doctors make the diagnosis they make and how they come to that conclusion. Some really great medical cases were discussed and I found this to be the highlight of the book. If you are a lay person, plan on spending a lot of time on the Internet or with a dictionary and medical dictionary close at hand. I give the book an average for the "big words" and "medical terminology" that could have been corrected by using terms a layperson could understand and by adding a little information to go along with the medical terms, after all do you know what an aortic tear is and where your aorta is located? A glossary at the end of the book accompanied by a few simple illustrations of the body would cause me to rate this book as Super-excellent!!!

*You didn't think I'd leave you hanging on heuristics did you? It means short-cuts.

I had read a review of this book and wanted to read it. I have not finished it yet but like the writing style.

I BOUGHT THIS BOOK BECAUSE I WAS CURIOUS AND A FRIEND HAD RECOMMENDED IT TO ME. I AM A NURSE FOR AN 8 DOCTOR OBGYN PRACTICE AND IT WAS VERY INTERESTING TO READ. I THINK SOME OF WHAT THIS BOOK SAYS IS TRUE FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF DOCTORS BUT SOME DO NOT MAKE A QUICK 18 SECOND ANALYSIS. I DID ENJOY THE BOOK OVERALL AND SOME OF WHAT I ALREADY KNOW OF SOME DOCTORS WAS MADE TRUE IN THIS BOOK.

what a great and very insightful book he writes. a wonderful collection of scenarios that have challenged both groopman and others and imparts lessons to anyone who should aspire to be a physician, who is one, or ANYONE who will ever visit a physician. in a world that is fast-paced and where many doctors are forced sometimes to care too much about the bottom line, it is especially important to know what you can do to help yourself and those you love when seeing a doctor.