Field Guide to the Difficult Patient Interview

This book is outstanding. I was researching the literature in preparation for a communications seminar I wanted to host, and found that few authors write from a practical, clinical perspective. Platt does, and anything you find written by him is a cut above the rest, probably because he has done a lot of work with real physicians, and he has his own clinical practice. This book saved me a lot of time and improved my enjoyment of work. I am an emergency physician and needed something practical and effective. I never found anything even remotely as good as this.

This is an effective, concise tool to help any medical student with virtually any patient encounter. It's easy to read, accurate and useful.Strengths: Brief, imaginative and educational on several levels.Weaknesses: Tends to pidgeon-hole patients, and approach them like problems, not people.

Here's a `Field Guide' destined to become dog-eared from regular use. Consider Patient X who gets mad, no matter what you do; Family B whose mother died unexpectedly on the operating table; or Patient A who can't quite commit to taking blood pressure meds. You'll find ways to better communicate with them -- or any of your patients for that matter.Sneak a peek into the Guide's Table of Contents to find tips for specific encounters. In just 90 seconds of reading, you can learn enough to get through an impasse. If you do nothing more than learn how to use the "Pearls" at the end of each chapter, your work will be easier. --Mary K. Kouri, Ph.D. Editor, "Quality Improvement/Total Quality Management" newsletter

This Field guide is a concise paperback full of pithy one-page descriptions of challenging patients along with suggested solutions, including the exact words one might use to "unstick" an interview that is stuck. Many of these vignettes will be familiar to the medical professional, including the list-bringer, the narcotic abuser, etc. However, it is notable that many of these techniques are applicable to conversations throughout our daily lives. A must for medical professionals and students who find interviewing a "lost art" and want to learn basic as well as advanced techniques for self-improvement.