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Patients Are a Virtue

By Brian Maurer

Paperback, 240 Pages

(6 Ratings)

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In three decades of medical practice, Brian T. Maurer has found his patients to be virtuous most of the time—virtuous in the sense that they have taught him much of what he has learned about the art of medicine. Once I would have been ecstatic in diagnosing such a condition. My colleagues would have clapped me on the shoulder. "Nice pick up!" they would’ve said. Some might have turned away, jealous at not having had the chance to step briefly into the limelight. But now, after 27 years of practice, having raised four children of my own, I know that in pediatrics every diagnostic coup translates into a potential tragedy for a parent. Instead of that surge of pride, I feel something I can’t quite put my finger on—call it humility perhaps. Or call it grace. These fifty-seven clinical tales in the art medicine evoke what the great Canadian physician and humanist Sir William Osler referred to as the true poetry of life—the poetry of the... More > commonplace.< Less

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5 People Reviewed This Product

By Thomas Doty

Aug 14, 2011

Brian Maurer's accounts of his life's work in healing are both humbling and uplifting. Maurer is a Virtue too ....

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By David Simpson

Aug 13, 2011

This is an excellent collection of vignettes from a medical care-giver whose major concern is to listen seriously to his patients and their stories. Recounted with grace and wit, they make vivid the lives and problems of their subjects in such a way as to engage our understanding and empathy. This book should be read by every medical and/or nursing student, as well as the general public.

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By Brian Maurer

Dec 5, 2006

""Patients Are a Virtue" reviewed in Yale Journal for Humanities in Medicine" Howard Spiro M.D. recently reviewed "Patients Are a Virtue" in the Yale Journal for Humanities in Medicine. Maurer "writes about his patients with the skill of Richard Selzer: refreshingly enough, he finds in mundane occurrences, and in patients others might regard as banal, the poetry and pathos of life." "Maurer has a gift for recording conversations. His stories flow smoothly and realistically, and they are compelling, at only three pages or so....This book gives brilliant witness to just that kind of humane medicine that attracts those who want to comfort as much as cure." Interested readers can access the entire review at: Yale Journal for Humanities in Medicine The Yale Journal for Humanities in Medicine acts as an online clearinghouse for manuscripts dealing with the humanities and medicine.

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By drdymond

Nov 18, 2006

"Patients are a Virtue" Just finished reading PAAV this week. I am not a health professional so the actual medical terminology held some challenges. But the stories were addicting, finishing one just made me want to read the next. It was almost like I was hearing the author himself. D. R. Dymond Lebanon, PA

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By A. Royall Pito

Oct 1, 2006

"Patients are a Virtue" Brian Maurer's riveting book, Patients are a Virtue, captivated me for many days. Indeed, I rationed it so that I would not finish it too quickly. These are poignant clinical tales distilled from almost 30 years of mindful practice. Whie every health care professional is exposed to similar stories, sadly only a few take the time to pen them. Each vignette here holds an important lesson for students, trainees, all health care professionals, patients and patients' families. PAAV would make a wonderful gift for any young person who is contemplating a career in the healing arts. It also serves to remind cynical old practioners such as AR Pito that we were once impressionable and hopeful. PAAV deserves the widest possible audience. A.R. Pito Cat's Cove Norfolk Island, S.P.

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