PROGRESS NOTES

A groundbreaking approach to training doctors could transform the future of health care For decades physicians have been trained on the textbook of the body from the corpse in a cadaver lab to the patient in a procedure suite This type of training usually leads them to specialize in specific organs or systems and breeds an increasingly impersonal view of medicine in which the importance of person to person care the hallmark of a good relationship between doctors and patients has been lost In this engrossing narrative you ll meet seven extraordinary students who embarked on a new way to train doctors that attempts to regain what s been lost These medical students follow patients instead of physicians accompanying patients to primary care appointments emergency room visits and even surgical procedures developing deep connections and understanding the intricate interplay between the health of our bodies and the health of our communities They learn the textbook of a community in addition to the textbook of the body Through poignant stories of these seven students and the people they meet as patients Dr Abraham M Nussbaum illustrates the power of becoming a doctor and the possibility of changing the way we train doctors As the students acquire a wealth of k