Behind the White Coat: Intimate Reflections on Being a Doctor in Today's World

By Steven H. Farber and M.D. Farber, Steven H.

Book Overview

Product Details Paperback: 316 pages Publisher: White Coat Pub (March 31, 2003) Language: English ISBN-10: 0972426108 ISBN-13: 978-0972426107 This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0972426108
• ISBN13: 9780972426107
• Release Date: March 2003
• Publisher: White Coat Pub
• Length: 316 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 0.8" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

A Look at the Heart of a Doctor's Life!

Behind the White Coat takes the reader into the heart and soul of a physician. Dr. Farber shares with us the trials and tribulations that come with being a doctor in today's world. He also highlights those life changing and wonderful events that make it all worthwhile. This is a very good read and is highly recomended.

Insightful and a good read

This is a wonderful book that explained my questions about the doctor/patient relationship. I think I am now a better patient and better understand the role of doctors in my life. I gave a copy to my cousin who is in medical school and she loved it as well.

Behind the White Coat

Excellent book for doctors and patients who want to understand the medical system and in particular, Behind the White Coat is a valuable asset to medical students and "would-be" doctors and their families.Patients can learn alot about their own health care and about those to whom they entrust their care. I think you will find it to be worthwhile reading and very timely in today's world.

Voyage Through the Heart

Behind the White Coat should be mandatory reading for anyone interested in pursuing a career in the medical field. Not even medical school can prepare a person for many of the trials and hardships of becoming a doctor in today's world. Dr. Steven H. Farber puts all his cards on the table in a revealing and intimate display of the perks and pitfalls of being a physician in a time when managed care organizations and insurance companies challenge compassion and common sense in a fight over patients' rights and medical know-how.Many of us see our doctors as a necessary evil. Five minutes. In and out. No bedside manner required - but this wasn't always the case. Dr. Farber would have enjoyed the life of a country doctor making house calls. His humor and compassion set him apart from many medical professionals. Fortunately, his earlier education as an English major prepared him to express and vent his concerns for modern-day practices versus his efforts to give every patient a hundred percent.Behind the White Coat gives the reader a glimpse into many of the issues that complicate our doctors' lives, showing us their frustrations and expectations up close and personal. The reader comes away with a better understanding of what physicians are up against, not only professionally, but also personally. How does the weight and magnitude of knowledge and experience play out against the personal need for love and family? How does seeing sickness and death at every turn in the road influence and impact their deepest feelings about their own mortality and the importance of positive attitudes and spiritual faith?A physician is not God. He is only an instrument of God, doing his utmost to strengthen and support his patient and give Death a good fight. Death is a force of nature, a part of life. Sometimes it can be avoided, other times delayed or softened - but for the physician fighting for a patient's life it often looks like the enemy. And when it wins - the loss of that person's life feels like failure. It is not. Death is part of the natural cycle of things. Behind the White Coat is much more than the true confessions of a veteran in the medical field. It is a journey that prepares the reader for the harsh realities that effect our daily lives, from the critical nature of even the smallest decision to having faith. Dr. Farber does an admirable job of demonstrating the importance of keeping a realistic perspective of his role and efforts while being challenged by Death. Like a marriage, a physician's journey revolves around his patients for better or worse. Dr. Farber has chosen the high road -- to heal whenever possible and to listen, comfort and learn from their struggles. Through their courage he has found the center of his faith, learning to rejoice in lives well lived rather than grieve. Behind the White Coat is guaranteed to make the reader think about issues including managed care, malpractice, and the cost of prescription drugs - but more than that - thi