Main description:

What defines an excellent doctor? He or she must certainly have a wealth of scientific knowledge and practical experience - but is that enough?

Dr Claudia Welch explores how the effectiveness of a physician extends far beyond the ability to prescribe correct treatments, identifying how to enhance the efficacy of medicine using four core doctoring principals: theoretical knowledge, practical experience, dexterity and 'purity'.

Drawing on ancient Eastern medical traditions, modern Western science and her own experience, Dr Welch examines how we know what we know, the mechanics of doctor-patient emotional contagion, and the degree to which a patient's sensory experience in a medical office affects their experience of treatments delivered. She also offers practical steps to cultivating more refined perceptive abilities and improving results.

Dr Welch's book will be essential reading for all healthcare practitioners interested in understanding how to enhance the therapeutic outcomes of their practice, including doctors of Ayurveda, Chinese medicine and Naturopathy, as well as Western medical professionals and other complementary health practitioners.

Contents:

Preface and Notes. 1. The Art of Medicine and the Qualities of a Physician. Part I. Excellence in Theoretical Knowledge. 2. Authority. 3. Perception: Developing Empathy. 4. Inference: The Role of Prediction in Medicine. 5. The Side Effects of the Pursuit of Knowledge. Part II. Extensive Practical Experience. 6. Don't Panic. Wait. 7. Nothing is Ever As It Seems. 8. Doctor as Educator. 9. Treat Complicated with Simple. 10. Subtraction First, Then Addition. 11. Patients Should Get Better. 12. When Nothing is Wrong, Pay Close Attention. 13. Healing Through Environment, Co-Workers and Protocols. 14. Working with or After Other Practitioners. 15. Turning Away Patients. 16. Tell the Truth. 17. The Role of Story in Diagnosis, Treatment and Compliance. 18. Confidence vs. Cockiness. Introduction to Chapters 19 through 23. 19. Sexual Abuse. 20. Addictions. 21. Mental Illness. 22. Eating Disorders. 23. Domestic Violence. 24. Determining the Severity of a Crisis. 25. Telephone Availability and Crisis. 26. Great Loss and Suffering. 27. Cake or Death? Choosing Hope. 28. Reflections on Part II. Part III. Dexterity. 29. Reaching Beyond Our Own Field. 30. When the Front Door Is Locked, Used the Back Door, or Even a Window. 31. When Patients Consistently Experience Odd Reactions to Remedies. 32. Loopholes - Thinking Outside the Box. 33. Reflections on Part III. Part IV. Purity. 34. Spiritual Powers vs. Effect of Character. 35. Doctor as Medicine. 36. Supporting Change Through Love and Focus. 37. Good Company. 38. Physical Purification. 39. Reflections on Part IV. Part V. Medicine. 40. Abundance. 41. Suitability. 42. Multiple Form. 43. Potency. 44. Reflections on Part V. Part VI. Compassion. Endnotes.