For anyone who has been helped through a major illness or health issue by a doctor, the impact that doctors can have on our lives is clear. But what about the role patients play in doctors’ lives? The book, Heart Murmurs, edited by UW Department of Family Medicine faculty Sharon Dobie, MD (who is also an author), was published in October 2014 by University of California Medical Humanities Press.
A reading, discussion and book signing took place on 22 July 2015 at the University Book Store (U District Store) in Seattle. Dr. Dobie and two other authors read several stories and Dr. Kelly Edwards, an ethicist, spoke on the ethics of writing about patients. Grouped thematically, the stories encourage health care providers to think about their relationships with patients and through that reflection, to know themselves more deeply. They also take all readers from the specific to universal messages, asking all of us to see how we are changed within all relationships, doctor-patient or otherwise. These humanizing tales draw us back to basics: relationships matter for us all.
