New Books: December 2017

ABC of domestic and sexual violence, edited by Susan Bewley, Jan Welch.

“ABC of Domestic and Sexual Violence is a practical guide for all health care professionals who are looking after abused individuals (whether knowingly or not) and who wish to learn more in order to help their patients. It employs a positive and hands on approach, emphasising simple history taking skills and clinical ‘tips’ and pitfalls to help demystify what is often considered a sensitive or difficult subject area.” — Wiley

What patients say, what doctors hear, by Danielle Ofri.

“Despite modern medicine’s infatuation with high-tech gadgetry, the single most powerful diagnostic tool is the doctor-patient conversation, which can uncover the lion’s share of illnesses. However, what patients say and what doctors hear are often two vastly different things.

Patients, anxious to convey their symptoms, feel an urgency to “make their case” to their doctors. Doctors, under pressure to be efficient, multitask while patients speak and often miss the key elements. Add in stereotypes, unconscious bias, conflicting agendas, and fear of lawsuits and the risk of misdiagnosis and medical errors multiplies dangerously.” — Amazon

Gender medicine: the groundbreaking new science of gender- and sex-related diagnosis and treatment, by Marek Glezerman

“Over millions of years, male and female bodies developed crucial physiological differences to improve the chances for human survival. These differences have become culturally obsolete with the overturning of traditional gender roles. But they are nevertheless very real, and they go well beyond the obvious sexual and reproductive variances: men and women differ in terms of digestion, which affects the way medications are absorbed. Sensitivity to pain is dependent on gender. Even the symptoms of a heart attack manifest differently in a man than in a woman.

And yet the medical establishment largely treats male and female patients as though their needs are identical. In fact, medical research is still done predominately on men, and the results are then applied to the treatment of women. This is clearly problematic and calls for a paradigm change—such a paradigm change is the purpose of Gender Medicine.” — Amazon

Pediatric surgery and medicine for hostile environments, edited by Kevin M. Creamer, Michael M. Fuenfer.

“This physician manual will serve as a basic reference for military physicians and surgeons in disaster or emergency response or battlefield situations, whose usual scope of practice entails limited exposure to childhood illness. Contains copyrighted material. Covers how to treat injuries such as those resulting from bomb and gunshot wounds, and other trauma from hostile environments.” — U.S. GPO

Pale rider: the Spanish Flu of 1918 and how it changed the world, by Laura Spinney.

“In this gripping narrative history, Laura Spinney traces the overlooked pandemic to reveal how the virus travelled across the globe, exposing mankind’s vulnerability and putting our ingenuity to the test. As socially significant as both world wars, the Spanish flu dramatically disrupted–and often permanently altered–global politics, race relations and family structures, while spurring innovation in medicine, religion and the arts. It was partly responsible, Spinney argues, for pushing India to independence, South Africa to apartheid and Switzerland to the brink of civil war. It also created the true “lost generation.” Drawing on the latest research in history, virology, epidemiology, psychology and economics, Pale Rider masterfully recounts the little-known catastrophe that forever changed humanity.” — Amazon

Roadmap to Residency 2017, by AAMC.

“Finding all the information and requirements for getting into residency can be time-consuming and overwhelming. This FREE e-book from the AAMC is designed to serve as a useful guide and overview of the process, summarizing the high-level points to consider and the key resources to help you find more detailed information as you search for the residency program that is the right fit for you.” — AAMC