Also Human: The Inner Lives of Doctors

Description

A groundbreaking examination of the pain, pressure and joy of medical work by a psychologist known as the 'doctor's doctor' For anyone trying to understand the impossible strains placed on our medical workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, this book is indispensable. _____________________________ 'A furious dispatch from the front line of the hospital system.' THE TIMES, Book of the Week _____________________________ Doctors are the people we turn to in our darkest moments. We trust them with our lives. But what does that stress do to a person? What does it take to confront death, disease, distress and suffering every day? To work in a healthcare system stretched to breaking point? To make decisions that will change lives - or possibly end them? And how do doctors cope with their own questions and fears, when they are expected to have all the answers? Caroline Elton is a psychologist who, for two decades, has specialised in helping doctors- the obstetrician whose own fertility treatment failed; the trainee oncologist struggling to face patients with the disease that killed her father; the brilliant neurosurgeon whose career stalled in an environment hostile to women; and many more. Drawing on extraordinary case studies and decades of work supporting clinicians, Also Human presents a provocative, perceptive and deeply humane examination of the modern medical profession. _____________________________ 'Written with perceptive sympathy for the wounded healer, it is necessary reading for both doctors and patients.' HILARY MANTEL 'Crucial and timely.' ATUL GAWANDE 'Fascinating and troubling. Read it and weep.' SUSIE ORBACH 'Haunting, beautiful and urgent.' JOHANN HARI 'At the heart of this book is the problem of how emotional resilience can be identified in prospective doctors and strengthened in practising doctors. We are fallible human beings, not omniscient gods.' HENRY MARSH, SUNDAY TIMES

Caroline Elton is an occupational psychologist who has spent the last twenty years training and supporting doctors. She received her PhD from University College London's School of Medicine and set up and led the Careers Unit supporting doctors in over seventy hospitals across London.

All agree there is a crisis in health care, but this book looks behind the headlines and tots up the human cost of a flawed system. Written with perceptive sympathy for the wounded healer, it is necessary reading for both doctors and patients. -- Hilary Mantel With a compassionate eye for detail and a deep understanding of just how the systems we train and practice in as doctors can fail us as human beings, Caroline Elton offers a crucial and timely reminder that doctors are Also Human. -- Atul Gawande, author of Being Mortal This furious dispatch from the front line of the hospital system argues we must care for our medics more... a book that may have found its popular moment. -- Helen Rumbelow * The Times, 'Book of the Week' * Caroline Elton is an occupational psychologist who has worked with medics for more than 20 years. She is uniquely qualified to comment... I'd be surprised if anyone who reads it will ever look at doctors in the same light again. -- Decca Aitkenhead * Guardian * Also Human describes, through a series of case histories... the emotional and psychological problems that doctors can face. The interesting question... is how doctors overcome such feelings and carry on working, despite often having to witness, and sometimes cause, terrible suffering for our patients. At the heart of this book is the problem of how emotional resilience can be identified in prospective doctors and strengthened in practising doctors. We are fallible human beings, not omniscient gods. -- Henry Marsh * Sunday Times *