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.

An essential guide to understanding the health benefits of marijuana and CBD Marijuana has been used for thousands of years as a medicine, but pot has been illegal in the United States for most of our lives. Almost all states have now legalized its medical use, and many consumers and physicians are exploring it as an alternative to conventional treatments. There’s substantial evidence that marijuana (cannabis) is a safe and effective treatment for chronic pain, chemo side effects, sleep and mood disorders, MS, and Parkinson’s disease, among others. But there’s also misinformation about marijuana on social media. And most physicians have limited knowledge on the subject, while dispensary staff (aka “budtenders”) lack medical training. Mikhail Kogan, MD, a renowned expert on medical marijuana, has found that cannabinoids (THC, CBD, hemp, and other cannabis products) can often be more beneficial, have fewer side effects, and be safer than many conventional medications, including opioids and other painkillers. But different ailments require different strains, doses, and routes of delivery. Medical Marijuana demystifies marijuana and other forms of cannabis in a user-friendly guide that will help readers: • Understand how marijuana morphed from the days of “Reefer Madness” to being hailed as a wonder weed • Navigate the complex medical and legal world of marijuana • Understand the risks and benefits of THC, CBD, and other cannabis products • Evaluate the pros and cons of inhaled and other routes of delivery: edibles, topicals, and even suppositories • Find a doctor who can recommend medical cannabis • Choose a reliable dispensary • Learn how to evaluate labels on cannabis products • Discover cost-saving strategies since medical marijuana isn’t covered by health insurance With real-life patients’ stories woven throughout the book, simple explanatory graphics, and the most up-to-date information, this is the definitive guide to the wide-ranging benefits of medical marijuana and other forms of cannabis.

The bestselling Baby University book series that brought you ABCs of Space, Rocket Science for Babies, and Quantum Physics for Babies is expanding! Empower children with this educational doctor book for kids so they can visit the doctor with courage and curiosity! Every year, you go to the doctor's office to make sure your body is working like it should. A nurse and doctor will check almost every part of you. They want to make sure you stay happy and healthy. Written by leading medical experts, Cara and Jon Florance, this doctor's visit book will take the fear out of going to the doctor by breaking down what and why a doctor does what he or she does. My Doctor's Visit is the perfect book for nurses to read and makes a wonderful addition to other special gifts for your little one, such as toy stethoscopes for kids, doctor kits for toddlers, and thermometers for babies. Give the gift of learning to your little one with this baby and toddler doctor book and help them feel confident about their next doctor's visit!

Heirs of General Practice is a frieze of glimpses of young doctors with patients of every age—about a dozen physicians in all, who belong to the new medical specialty called family practice. They are people who have addressed themselves to a need for a unifying generalism in a world that has become greatly subdivided by specialization, physicians who work with the "unquantifiable idea that a doctor who treats your grandmother, your father, your niece, and your daughter will be more adroit in treating you." These young men and women are seen in their examining rooms in various rural communities in Maine, but Maine is only the example. Their medical objectives, their successes, the professional obstacles they do and do not overcome are representative of any place family practitioners are working. While essential medical background is provided, McPhee's masterful approach to a trend significant to all of us is replete with affecting, and often amusing, stories about both doctors and their charges.

“Trust me; I’m a doctor” no longer has the credibility it once did. Nutritional therapy is often overlooked in medical school, and the information provided to physicians is often outdated. Advice to avoid healthy fats and stay out of the sun has been proven to be detrimental to longevity and wreak havoc on your system, and yet many doctors still regularly espouse this “wisdom.” What kind of advice is your doctor giving you? Is it possible you’re being misled? Dr. Ken Berry is here to dispel the myths and misinformation that have been perpetuated by the medical and food industries for decades. This updated and expanded edition of Dr. Berry’s bestseller Lies My Doctor Told Me exposes the truth behind all kinds of “lies” told by well-meaning but misinformed medical practitioners. In this book, Dr. Berry will enlighten you about nutrition and life choices, their role in your health, and how to begin an educated conversation with your doctor about finding the right path for you. This book is a survival kit on your journey through the confusing, and often misleading, world of conventional medicine and includes such topics as • How doctors are taught to think about nutrition and other preventative health measures—and how they should be thinking • How the Food Pyramid and MyPlate came into existence and why they should change • The facts about fat intake and heart health • The truth about the effects of whole wheat on the human body • The role of dairy in your diet • The truth about salt—friend or foe? • The dangers and benefits of hormone therapy • New information about inflammation and how it should be viewed by doctors Come out of the darkness and let Ken Berry be your guide to optimal health and harmony!

Every Doctor is about thriving in medicine at a time of massive advances and changes in global health systems and medical services. The book is a must-read for doctors of all specialties at all stages of their careers wherever they practise in the world, because exemplary care of patients, peers, profession and self is a lifelong journey.

Playing Doctor is an engaging and highly perceptive history of the medical TV series from its inception to the present day. Turow offers an inside look at the creation of iconic doctor shows as well as a detailed history of the programs, an analysis of changing public perceptions of doctors and medicine, and an insightful commentary on how medical dramas have both exploited and shaped these perceptions. Originally published in 1989 and drawing on extensive interviews with creators, directors, and producers, Playing Doctor immediately became a classic in the field of communications studies. This expanded edition includes a new introduction placing the book in the contemporary context of the health care crisis, as well as new chapters covering the intervening twenty years of television programming. Turow draws on recent research and interviews with principals in contemporary television doctor shows such as ER, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, and Scrubs to illuminate the extraordinary ongoing cultural influence of medical shows. Playing Doctor situates the television vision of medicine as a limitless high-tech resource against the realities underlying the health care debate, both yesterday and today. Joseph Turow is Robert Lewis Shayon Professor at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania. He was named a Distinguished Scholar by the by the National Communication Association and a Fellow of the International Communication Association in 2010. He has authored eight books, edited five, and written more than 100 articles on mass media industries. He has also produced a DVD titled Prime Time Doctors: Why Should You Care? which has been distributed to all first-year medical students with the support of the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation.