What Doctors Feel: How Emotions Affect the Practice of Medicine

The public has often painted a romanticized portrait of the medical professional as hard, cold, and unflinchingly daring, immune to the emotions and stresses that plague the rest of us. However, while the stresses and rewards that doctors face in their profession are unique, they respond to them with the same emotions as the rest of us - with fear, shame, anger, empathy, frustration, hope, pride, confusion... In this book, Dr. Danielle Ofri examines her own career and draws on anecdotes from other medical professionals to reveal the emotional side of medicine.

About the Author :
Danielle Ofri, MD, PhD is an associate professor of medicine at New York University School of Medicine and has cared for patients at New York's Bellevue Hospital for more than two decades. She is the author of" Singular Intimacies: Becoming a Doctor at Bellevue," " Incidental Findings: Lessons from My Patients in the Art of Medicine," and "Medicine in Translation: Journeys with My Patients." Dr. Ofri is a regular contributor to the "New York Times'""Well" blog as well as the "Times'" "Science Times" section and the "New England Journal of Medicine." Her writings have appeared in "Best American Essays" and "Best American Science Writing." She is the editor in chief of the "Bellevue Literary Review." Dr. Ofri lives in New York City with her husband, three children, and their loyal lab mutt.

Review :
"Taut, vivid prose. . . . She writes for a lay audience with a practiced hand." --"New York Times ""Here is a book that is at once sad and joyful, frightening and thought-provoking. In her lucid and passionate explanations of the important role that emotions play in the practice of medicine and in healing and health, Danielle Ofri tells stories of great importance to both doctors and patients." --Perri Klass, author of "Treatment Kind and Fair: Letters to a Young Doctor" "An invaluable guide for doctors and patients on how to 'recognize and navigate the emotional subtexts' of the doctor-patient relationship." --"Kirkus Reviews" "Yet her insightful and invigorating book makes the case that it's better for patients if a physician's emotional compass-needle points in a positive direction." --"Booklist" (starred review) "Rich and deeply insightful. . . . A fascinating journey into the heart and mind of a physician struggling to do the best for her patients while navigating an imperfect health care system." --"Boston Globe " "With grace, courage, humility, and compassion, Bellevue Hospital physician Ofri gives voice and color to the heartbreak, stress, and joy that attends medical practice." --"Library Journal" "A fabulous read." --"Greater Good" "Here is a book that is at once sad and joyful, frightening and thought-provoking. In her lucid and passionate explanations of the important role that emotions play in the practice of medicine and in healing and health, Danielle Ofri tells stories of great importance to both doctors and patients." --Perri Klass, author of "Treatment Kind and Fair: Letters to a Young Doctor" "An invaluable guide for doctors and patients on how to 'recognize and navigate the emotional subtexts' of the doctor-patient relationship." --"Kirkus Reviews" "Yet her insightful and invigorating book makes the case that it's better for patients if a physician's emotional compass-needle points in a positive direction." --"Booklist" (starred review) "Rich and deeply insightful. . . . A fascinating journey into the heart and mind of a physician struggling to do the best for her patients while navigating an imperfect health care system." --"Boston Globe " "With grace, courage, humility, and compassion, Bellevue Hospital physician Ofri gives voice and color to the heartbreak, stress, and joy that attends medical practice." --"Library Journal" "Taut, vivid prose. . . . She writes for a lay audience with a practiced hand." --"New York Times"