Behavior & Medicine

Reviews / Votes

"The health care problems we face in this country are at their core behavioral rather than medical. This book has the potential to change the thinking and the practice habits of a generation of health professionals. It repeatedly makes the point that the most significant power of the physician or other health care provider may lie in his or her capacity to act as a behavioral change agent. Dr. Wedding and his contributors have made an important contribution to the medical world with Behavior and Medicine. Physicians, nurses, and other health professionals can enhance their understanding of the conditions they encounter by more fully understanding the patients they treat. Both students and practitioners will find that Behavior and Medicine is a fine place to start cultivating that understanding." From the Foreword by US Senator Tom Daschle; "As medical and scientific knowledge increases, we demand more and more of medical students. There is a growing tendency to sacrifice the behavioral and social sciences to make room for more 'hard'science. This shortsighted approach is likely to leave medical students ill prepared to deal with the multiple behavioral issues they are bound to confront in the day-to-day practice of medicine. Despite our increasing knowledge about disease and its treatment, our best efforts at treatment and prevention are often futile because we do not fully understand - or take the time to understand - our patients. Behavior and Medicine is a welcome antidote to this problem. Relationships can heal; there is a certain beauty in the aging process; sexuality can and should be addressed; and patients can be fully understood only in the context of their cultural and interpersonal worlds. "Dr. Wedding is especially well qualified to edit a work of this sort. His love of students and his passion for teaching behavioral science are reflected in every page of Behavior and Medicine." From the Foreword by Samuel O. Thier, MD President and Chief Executive Officer, Partners HealthCare System, Inc."