Re-humanizing Medicine

Wellbeing.com

Review by D. Kirk
March 3, 2015

Let’s be clear: I don’t work in medicine. However, the wonderful people who do work in conventional healthcare seem to have their work cut out when it comes to balancing the needs of real people with economic imperatives and the reductionist approach of biomedicine. Medical doctor David R Kopacz has practised in the US and New Zealand and, in this considered, well-argued book, he argues there’s an urgent need to establish a holistic framework for medicine, one in which physicians approach patients as whole people not just the sum of their physical complaints. Written for doctors and doctors-in-training, Re-humanizing Medicine assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the current system, describes the holistic medicine paradigm and its benefits, outlines how clinicians can develop a deeper sense of their own humanity so they can appreciate that of others and better care for themselves, and gives advice on how to create a holistic clinic and re-humanise your own practice. An excellent guide.