How to Be a Patient: The Essential Guide to Navigating the World of Modern Medicine

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

From registered nurse and public health advocate Sana Goldberg, RN,a timely, accessible, and comprehensive handbook to navigating common medical situations. From the routine to the unexpected, How to Be a Patient is your ultimate guide to better healthcare.

Did you know that patients have statistically better outcomes when their surgeon is female That you can mark-up an informed consent sheet before you sign it, or get second opinions on CTs and MRIs That theres a blue book for healthcare procedures, or an algorithm to decide between ER, Urgent Care, and waiting-until-Monday

In How to Be a Patient, nurse and public health advocate Sana Goldberg walks readers through the complicated and uncertain medical landscape, illuminating a path to better care.

Warm and disarmingly honest, Goldbergs advice is as expert as it is accessible. In the face of an epidemic of brusque, impersonal care she empowers readers with the information and tools to come to good decisions with their providers and sidestep the challenging realities of modern medicine.

With sections like When All is Well, When Its An Emergency, When Its Your Person, and When You Have to Stand Up to the Industry, along with appendices to help track family history, avoid pointless medical tests, and choose when and where to undergo a procedure, How to Be a Patient is an invaluable and essential guide for a new generation of patients.

Reviews

"How to Be a Patient is an excellent guide for health care professionals and novices alike to maximize their chances of obtaining the best medical care possible. Whether you're healthy or experiencing chronic medical problems, young or old, male or female, there's a chapter for you. Reading the book and following the recommendations will provide the knowledge, confidence, and preparation required to ensure you receive the health care you deserve. " -- Robert Pearl, MD, bestselling author of Mistreated

"How to Be a Patient should be required reading for patients and health care providers alike. With keen attention the systemic failures and unconscious biases that make the medical system a minefield for so many patients, Goldberg offers eminently useful advice for navigating it. This book will leave you with answers to questions you didn't even know to ask." -- Maya Dusenbery, author of Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick

"An invaluable guidebook for patients and their loved ones: in short, all of us. Goldberg says above all, patients need agency--asking questions, expecting to be heard, educating themselves, and sometimes saying no--to get the care we all deserve."
-- Theresa Brown, RN, New York Times bestselling author of The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients' Lives.

"Easy to read and informative. How to Be a Patient offers a solid, straightforward resource for getting quality health care." -- Publishers Weekly

"With easily digestible truths and tools...[and] clear, swiftly delivered guidance...Goldberg ably navigates the contemporary pathways of health self-advocacy and empowers readers.... A plainspoken, universally applicable medical reference guide inspiring patient agency." -- Kirkus Reviews

"How to Be a Patient imparts little-known strategies for receiving optimal care and attention... [and] Goldberg's adeptness at storytelling brings a personal tone to a system that often seems to snub individual experience." -- Reediana

Author Bio

Sana Goldberg is a nurse, author, and public health advocate. A graduate of Reed College, she studied neuroscience and eventually decided to become a nurse. She's worked with cancer patients, surgical patients, and geriatric, refugee and LGBTQ populations across various settings, specializing in dual-diagnosis and women's health. In 2017 I helped open Unity Center, the first hospital on the west coast dedicated solely to mental health emergencies. I'm a contributor for the Atlantic, and the founder of Nightingale: A magazine of story, art, and activism for health equity. Her 2016 TEDxHarvard talk "What if You Became a Nurse" aims to draw people to the profession, and explore the public's relationship to nurses. She is also the founder of Nightingale Magazine. Beginning Fall 2018, Goldberg will pursue her nurse practitioner degree at Yale. https://sanagoldberg.com/ TedxHarvard Talk: What If You Became a Nurse https://www.youtube.com/watchv=0WnLA6bSmwA Twitter: @sanagoldberg (1,319 followers)