Excerpt from The Best Family Physician and Household Companion: The Mystery of Medicine Explained! Prepared for the Use of Families, Farmers, Mechanics, Travelers, Everybody All the works that I have previously met with, on this sun joet, have invariably attempted too much, by giving directions for treatment that the great mass of their readers would be unwilling to try. I have endeavored to give simple, brief, and safe instructions, so no one need be afraid to follow them. I have, of course, availed myself of all the sources of informa tion possible in the preparation of the work. The study of our own natures is, perhaps, the most elevating and ennobling subject which can engage the mind, and we ought to deem it as much a part of our sacred duty to promote physical health and happiness in this life, as to prepare our spirits for the fruition of a happy immortality. Knowing the weight of responsibility resting upon me in issuing a volume like this, for the guidance, comfort, and benefit of my fellow-beings, I feel to implore the blessings of God, that my labors be not in vain. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

With family doctors increasingly overburdened, bureaucratized, and burned out, how can the field change before it's too late? Over the past few decades, as American medical practice has become increasingly specialized, the number of generalists—doctors who care for the whole person—has plummeted. On paper, family medicine sounds noble; in practice, though, the field is so demanding in scope and substance, and the health system so favorable to specialists, that it cannot be fulfilled by most doctors. In Searching for the Family Doctor, Timothy J. Hoff weaves together the early history of the family practice specialty in the United States with the personal narratives of modern-day family doctors. By formalizing this area of practice and instituting specialist-level training requirements, the originators of family practice hoped to increase respect for generalists, improve the pipeline of young medical graduates choosing primary care, and, in so doing, have a major positive impact on the way patients receive care. Drawing on in-depth interviews with fifty-five family doctors, Hoff shows us how these medical professionals have had their calling transformed not only by the indifferent acts of an unsupportive health care system but by the hand of their own medical specialty—a specialty that has chosen to pursue short- over long-term viability, conformity over uniqueness, and protectionism over collaboration. A specialty unable to innovate to keep its membership cohesive and focused on fulfilling the generalist ideal. The family doctor, Hoff explains, was conceived of as a powered-up version of the "country doctor" idea. At a time when doctor-patient relationships are evaporating in the face of highly transactional, fast-food-style medical practice, this ideal seems both nostalgic and revolutionary. However, the realities of highly bureaucratic reimbursement and quality-of-care requirements, educational debt, and ongoing consolidation of the old-fashioned independent doctor's office into corporate health systems have stacked the deck against the altruists and true believers who are drawn to the profession of family practice. As more family doctors wind up working for big health care corporations, their career paths grow more parochial, balkanizing the specialty. Their work roles and professional identities are increasingly niche-oriented. Exploring how to save primary care by giving family doctors a fighting chance to become the generalists we need in our lives, Searching for the Family Doctor is required reading for anyone interested in the troubled state of modern medicine.

Drawing on the expertise of a nationally recognized group of family practice educators affiliated with the University of California, Drs. Little and Midtling are able to present many specific examples on meeting the challenges of becoming a family physician. Also included are chapters that draw out the differences between inpatient and outpatient service, discuss the teaching of practice management, and touch on the impact of specialists in ethics and cross cultural communication on family practice teams. The concluding chapters examine how family physicians have survived in the "medical community", and examine the future of family practice.