How Not To Be A Doctor: And Other Essays - Hardcover

John Launer is a GP and medical educator known for his work in consultation skills, clinical supervision, and narrative based medicine. He is one of the best-known columnists in the British medical press and has contributed columns and
articles to numerous periodicals and journals, including Times Health Supplement and BMJ, for over twenty years.

“Humorous, poignant, provocative, and educational, the author's opinions and anecdotes offer fresh takes on the ever changing field of medicine and how small changes in patient care have the potential to inspire radical improvements in the industry at large. ”
- Kirkus Reviews

“Thoughtful and illuminating.”
- The Toronto Star

“Dr. Launer expertly crafts little thought experiments, dialogues and scenes specifically to shift your perspective . . . What Dr. Launer does best in this collection is inject new life into age-old lessons.”
- The Medical Post

“What fun to read! Lively, entertaining, thoughtful. At times one simply laughs in agreement, at other times one wants to remonstrate in disbelief. But always with a smile, and sometimes without even intending to, a huge guffaw releases itself as if the air needed to understand how amusing a meta-comment on medicine could be. The chapters on hospitals inadequate signage and the bureaucratic argot of the healthcare system are memorable. Altogether delightful!  ”
- Arthur Kleinman, Professor of Medical Anthropology in the Department of Social Medicine, Harvard University, author of The Illness Narratives

“I raced through this book, laughing, nodding, highlighting, and then read some favorite bits again. Every chapter has a gem of wisdom as well as being so very elegantly written and entertaining. I shall be recommending it to my fellow coaches as virtually all of it applies to us as much as to clinicians: do we understand the exquisite importance of choosing the right words for our questions? Do we always hear what matters most for this client right now? Do we always act on the principle that kindness is every bit as important as our technical know-how? Maybe not―and we need to be reminded.”
- Jenny Rogers, author of Coaching for Health

“How Not to Be a Doctor is seriously funny, wickedly irreverent collection of stories. It has wise advice to those that want to be better doctors, whether young or old. . . . Deep understanding shines through: if only every medical student could hear his advice: ‘We succeed by letting go of the habit of trying to fix everything.’”
- Glyn Elwyn, Director of the Patient Engagement Program at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy, Dartmouth College, and author of Shared Decision Making in Health Care

“This collection of essays gets to the heart and soul of current medical practice. It is written by a doctor, but incorporates life experience and wisdom, making it an easy, thought provoking read. A worthwhile resource for anyone currently in medical practice, or who contemplating a career as a doctor.”
- Jane Dacre, President of the Royal College of Physicians

“Dr. Launer reminds us that we as doctors need to share our vulnerabilities and be willing to explore new horizons, not just in science, but about the heart and soul of what it means to be human as we journey with our patients.”
- Katrina Anderson, Australian National University College of Health and Medicine