When Doctors Get Sick
Authors: Howard M. Spiro
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1998)

On Being a Patient15 January 1998When Doctors Get SickHoward M. Spiro, MD and Harvey N. Mandell, MDHoward M. Spiro, MDYale University School of Medicine; New Haven, CT 06520 and Harvey N. Mandell, MDYale University School of Medicine; New Haven, CT 06520Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-128-2-199801150-00014 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Storytelling has gained prominence in medicine, where the tales of the sick are medicalized as "pathography." Interest in "narrative," as it is called in academic circles, is equally widespread in history, where stories based on facts and re-created with imagination bring other times to life more dramatically than the dry data of economics and biography. If we physicians read more accounts of our patients' travails and, better still, talked about them with each other, we might improve the humane qualities of medical care. The chiaroscuro of conversation and narrative can so highlight the social, emotional, and economic origins of many ...References1. Mandell H, Spiro H. When Doctors Get Sick. New York: Plenum; 1987. Google Scholar2. Scarry E. The Body in Pain. New York: Oxford Univ Pr; 1985. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Yale University School of Medicine; New Haven, CT 06520Corresponding Author: Howard M. Spiro, MD, Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, Box 208019, New Haven, CT 06520.Current Author Addresses: Dr. Spiro: Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, Box 208019, New Haven, Ct 06520. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byAdvance Directives, Medical Conditions, and Preferences for End-of-Life Care Among Physicians: 12-year Follow-Up of the Johns Hopkins Precursors StudyHealth Related Absenteeism of Family Physicians in the Negev Region of Israel: A Cross-Sectional StudyAutonomía, confianza y ética médica en la obra de Onora O'Neill*Screening tests among family doctors: do we do as we preach?Physician Care of Family, Friends, or ColleaguesPersonal maternal care reflections of general practice physiciansRefleksivno prepoznavanje potenciala študentov medicine in specializantov: primer delavnic za tutorje in mentorje na medicinski fakulteti univerze v ljubljaniThe therapeutic relationship in phytotherapyWounded healersWhat Do You Do When Your Loved One Is Ill? The Line between Physician and Family MemberErik K. Fromme, MD, Neil J. Farber, MD, Stewart F. Babbott, MD, Mary E. Pickett, MD, and Brent W. Beasley, MDChallenges faced by palliative care physicians when caring for doctors with advanced cancerThe physician's disease: The impact of medical knowledge on personal illnessA Survey of Neurologists on Self-treatment and Treatment of Their FamiliesTruth-Telling in a Culturally Diverse World 15 January 1998Volume 128, Issue 2Page: 152-154KeywordsComputed axial tomographyEmotionsEndoscopyFearMedical staffMyocardial infarctionPatientsQuality improvementRadiologistsWeight loss Issue Published: 15 January 1998 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 1998 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...