Accidental Kindness - by Michael Stein (Hardcover)

About the Book

"We will all be patients sooner or later. And when we go to the doctor, when we're hurting, we tend to think in terms of cause and condemnation. We often look for relief not only from physical symptoms but also from our self-blame. We want from our doctors kindness under any of its many names: empathy, caring, compassion, humanity. Drawing on his work as a primary care physician and a behavioral scientist, Michael Stein artfully examines the often conflicting goals of patients and their doctors. In those differences, Stein recognizes that kindness should not be a patient's forbidden or unrealistic expectation"--

Book Synopsis

We will all be patients sooner or later. And when we go to the doctor, when we're hurting, we tend to think in terms of cause and condemnation. We often look for relief not only from physical symptoms but also from our self-blame. We want from our doctors kindness under any of its many names: empathy, caring, compassion, humanity. We look for safety and forgiveness. But we forget that doctors, too, are often in need of forgiveness--from their patients and from themselves. No doctor enters the medical profession expecting to be unkind or to make mistakes, but because of the complexity of our current medical system and because doctors are human, they often find themselves acting much less kindly than they would like to. Drawing on his work as a primary care physician and a behavioral scientist, Michael Stein artfully examines the often conflicting goals of patients and their doctors. In those differences, Stein recognizes that kindness should not be a patient's forbidden or unrealistic expectation. This book leaves us with new knowledge of and insights into what we might hope for, and what might go wrong, or right, in the most intimate clinical moments.

Review Quotes

"[Stein's] incisive articulation of the emotional challenges faced by doctors is rendered in prose that's vivid, candid, and shot through with compassion--it makes for an investigation that's tough to forget. This is a standout."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

"An important addition to the canon of publications by physician writers as health care moves toward a greater understanding of the need for empathy and kindness toward our patients, but also toward ourselves as health care workers."--Annals of Emergency Medicine

"Gratifying and gut-wrenching. Interesting and intense. Stimulating and stressful. . . . While practicing physicians are the intended primary audience for Accidental Kindness, all types of healthcare professionals--nurses, dentists, physician assistants and nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and mental health workers--should find the book instructive, comforting, and insightful."--Journal of Medical Humanities

"Stein's candour, curiosity and ethical engagement admit us to a different realm from the fast-paced medical narratives we're used to reading. He refuses to simplify. Can kindness be taught? Should it be taught? And what is kindness in the first place? Stein may be guiding us toward a Socratic impasse, but, as with Platonic dialogues, we learn a great deal along the way."--Rachel Hadas, The Times Literary Supplement

About the Author

Michael Stein, M.D., is award-winning author of six novels and four books of nonfiction, most recently Broke: Patients Talk about Money with Their Doctor. He is professor of health policy at the Boston University School of Public Health and executive editor of PublicHealthPost.org.