Medical Analogies for Clinician-Patient Communication

Patient-healthcare worker communication is the cornerstone of an informed and patient-centered approach to healthcare. It is continually stressed throughout all aspects of medical training and practice, but this can be impaired by the myriad of medical jargon and complex pathophysiology required in explaining a patient’s condition. This book aims to provide a comprehensive reference of analogies which simplify and make the most common medical conditions that patients may question about or be afflicted with comprehensible. There is need for an efficient way to translate years of study and experiential learning from the doctor and healthcare professional to the patient. The book contains over 200 analogies that span across 19 chapters covering a wide variety of medicine specialties, including but not limited to cardiology, dermatology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, and more. Each chapter follows a consistent format: a condition is given, the analogy title for the condition is given, and then the analogy is explained in the body text. The authors took some of the most common encountered medical conditions and attributed them to digestible analogies that help bridge the gap between healthcare professional to patient. Medical Analogies for Clinician-Patient Communication: Innovative Strategies for Improving the Clinical Encounter serves as a fruitful reference for anyone wanting to communicate profoundly with their patients without forfeiting brevity.