Attending

Medicine, Mindfulness, and Humanity

By: Dr. Ronald Epstein M.D.

Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross

The first book for the general public about mindfulness and medical practice, a groundbreaking, intimate exploration of how doctors think and what matters most - safe, effective, patient-centered, compassionate care - from the foremost expert in the field.

As a third-year Harvard Medical student doing a clinical rotation in surgery, Ronald Epstein watched an experienced surgeon fail to notice his patient's kidney turning an ominous shade of blue. In that same rotation, Epstein was awestruck by another surgeon's ability to slow down and shift between autopilot and intentionality. The difference between these two doctors left a lasting impression on Epstein and set the stage for his life's work - to identify the qualities and habits that distinguish masterful doctors from those who are merely competent. The secret, he learned, was mindfulness.

In Attending, his first book, Dr. Epstein builds on his world-renowned, innovative programs in mindful practice and uses gripping and deeply human stories from clinical practice to give patients a language to describe what they most value in health care and to outline a road map for doctors and other health care professionals to refocus their approach to medicine. Drawing on his clinical experiences and current research, and exploring four foundations of mindfulness - attention, curiosity, beginner's mind, and presence - Dr. Epstein introduces a revolutionary concept: By looking inward, health care practitioners can grow their capacity to provide high-quality care and the resilience to be there when their patients need them.

The commodification of health care has shifted doctors' focus away from the healing of patients to the bottom line. Clinician burnout is at an all-time high. Attending is the antidote. With intelligence and compassion, Epstein offers a crucial, timely book that shows us how we can restore humanity to medicine, guides us toward a better overall quality of care, and reminds us of what matters most.

©2017 Dr. Ronald Epstein. All rights reserved. (P)2017 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Being an attendant, being resilient is discussed

Being an attendant, being resilient and being mindful in a physician practice is so essential not because of doctors job but also because of being a human.
I would recommend it for all doctors up there, and it is a pity that those truths have not been thought in medical school.

Every physician should read this

As well as hospital administrator. Nurses as well. You know what just make everyone in healthcare read it.

useful

it makes something unspoken, that every clinician feels, real. clinical practice isn't easy and it's not without emotional cost. this book address that topic in a hopeful way.

Amazing!!

Should be required reading in all med schools and residencies. I will be a better doctor because of it.

required reading

this book is poignant timely and should be required reading for anyone in any medical profession it provides insights asked questions and inspires you to zoom out and look at not only how you practice as a Healer but how you must work within the institution around you

Dig deeper

Ditto on the content regarding the mechanics of mindfulness Needs to dig deeper and elaborate more on the how to on mindfulness

Focus

His methods and way of presenting the information were quite powerful. Very well done approach to the information.

Useful tips

Many practical tips I have already adopted when seeing my patients and really listening to them.

Better if he had insisted on the technical support

It has beautiful stories but I would have loved it if he had been insisted on the parts of his strategies for achieving mindfulness. I think that he was a bit superficial in those parts.