Medicine and literature : the doctor's companion to the classics / (Volume 1)

‘Medicine and Literature'is the doctor's guide to the classics. How can a doctor best understand the emotions and behaviour of his or her patients? An effective and deeply satisfying route is through an appreciation of literature, and the profound understanding its authors have of the human predicament. In this extraordinary and enlightening volume, general practitioner John Salinsky guides the reader through some of the world's finest works. In each chapter he describes a classic novel, short story, play or poem, revealing them to be easily accessible and enjoyable. He shows how parallels can be drawn between characters in literature and in the consulting room. Developed from his long-running column'Education for Primary care, Dr Salinsky's book give doctors a new perspective on the doctor-patient relationship and provides unique support to communication skills. Medicine and Literature is the doctor's guide to the classics. How can a doctor best understand the emotions and behaviour of his or her patients? An effective and deeply satisfying route is through an appreciation of literature, and the profound understanding its authors have of the human predicament. In this extraordinary and enlightening volume, general practitioner John Salinsky guides the reader through some of the world's finest works. In each chapter he describes a classic novel, short story, play or poem, revealing them to be easily accessible and enjoyable. He shows how parallels can be drawn between characters in literature and in the consulting room. Developed from his long-running column 'Education for Primary care, Dr Salinsky's book give doctors a new perspective on the doctor-patient relationship and provides unique support to communication skills. Content: Cover Title Page Copyright Page Contents Foreword About the authors 1 Introduction: why should doctors read the classics? 2 A Country Doctor a short story 3 A Midsummer Night's Dream 4 Anna Karenin Postscript 5 Mansfield Park 6 Wuthering Heights 7 Ulysses 8 Indian Camp Brian Glasser 9 The Brothers Karamazov 10 Tess of the d'Urbervilles 11 The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy Postscript 12 The sonnets of William Shakespeare and John Donne Oliver Samuel 13 A Country Doctor's Notebook and The Master and Margarita Tim Swanwick 14 Middlemarch 15 If on a Winter's Night, a Traveller16 Bleak House Postscript 17 Madame Bovary 18 The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Gillie Bolton 19 Serving suggestions for teachers Index "The most fundamental of all consulting skills is genuine curiosity about other people, the constant urge to wonder 'Why are they as they are?' We should open our minds to the life of the imagination not just for its entertainment value, but for the mindset of curiosity it engenders in us. Such books as John Salinsky describes in this and his previous volume combine powerful opportunities for our own professional growth with pleasure and recreation too.' - from the publisher. [NF] Aiming to give doctors a fresh perspective on the doctor-patient relationship, this book describes classic novels, short stories, plays and poems in detail. Volume one (1-85775-535-9) was published in 2002. Contributors include Alistair Stead, Gillie Bolton and Brian Glasser. 'Medicine and Literature' is the doctor's guide to the classics. In this extraordinary and enlightening volume, general practitioner Dr. Salinsky shows how parallels can be drawn between characters in literature and in the consulting room.