mend it to all physicians who want to better help their patients deal ... Toronto, ON M6S 1T0; website www.movc.com ... 16-MB RAM, 20-MB free disk space. OVERALL ... annoyance is partly my own fault. I ... sary, but make sure you look at the.
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have had similar experiences. This a good book for light reading-a great book to take along on a trip. -Douglas P Black, MD, MCLSC, CCFP
urology, and psychiatry), medical students, and other health care professionals who manage sexual problems
Dr Black has practisedfamily medicine
WTith the release of sildenafil (Viagra), Dr Maurice, a wellrespected Canadian authority on sexual medicine, has provided physicians with a timely reference on how to manage patients and their partners' sexual concerns beyond merely prescribing pills for potency. This book integrates medical and psychological aspects, and factors relevant to couples in the up-to-date diagnosis and management of sexual difficulties. Dr Maurice describes the common prevalence of sexual problems and why physicians and patients find it hard to discuss them. More importantly, using case examples and suggested interview questions, he offers solutions to those wanting to deal more directly with their patients' sexual problems. In exploring sexual problems, the author provides easy-to-follow flow charts that tie together different diagnostic issues, including medical and drug effects along with psychological and relationship factors. An appendix on medications lists drugs (both prescription and recreational) by sexual side effect. Book lists and websites for patients are also useful. Dr Maurice makes a cogent argument for primary care physicians to find case examples of sexual problems in their practices. He offers suggestions on what to do once these cases are identified. Most useful is a section for each diagnosis on when to refer for expert consultation or to transfer care. In combining well referenced text, case studies, and interview questions, Dr Maurice has created an excellent textbook that can function as both an
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in various parts ofrural Canada. He is now semiretired and living in rural eastern Ontario.
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Reliving the past COUNTRY CALLS. MEMORIES OF A SMALL-TOWN DOCTOR AUTHORS: Sid Cornish with Judith Cornish Fifth House Ltd, 9-6125 11th St SE, Calgary, AB T2H 2L6 1998/170 pp/$14.95 OVERALL RATING Good STRENGTHS Amusing anecdotes of rural practice, light reading WEAKNESSES None AUDIENCE General
Treating sexual disorders in family practice
T his little book is primarily a coll ection of anecdotes from the experience of a physician who practised in rural Alberta in the 1950s and beyond. It was written while the author was a patient in a coronary care unit before and after surgery. The stories are interspersed with observations on life in a tertiary care hospital, and the contrasts are dramatic. This book is well written, with no technical language. Many of the stories are good for a laugh, but they also are thought-provoking. They bring back memories to those of us who
SEXUAL MEDICINE IN PRIMARY CARE AUTHOR: William L. Maurice Mosby-Year Book, Inc, 11830 Westline Industrial Dr, St Louis, MO 63146 USA 1999/366 pp/$59.95 OVERALL RATING Good to excellent STRENGTHS Medical and psychological aspects, and factors relevant to couples integrated in a case-based approach. Flow charts, book lists, and websites WEAKNESSES Layout mixing text, cases, and example interviews at times hard to read AUDIENCE Family physicians, residents (family, obstetrics and gynecology,
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introductory and advanced resource. Readers trying to find a "quick fix" for a particular clinical problem might get frustrated with the layout of the book. This book will, however, amply reward readers who want to learn how to integrate pharmacotherapy with psychotherapy. I welcome this book and recommend it to all physicians who want to better help their patients deal with sexual concerns. -Stephen Holzapfel, MD, CCFP, FCFP format. I much prefer this format to the lecture hall. The narrator, Dr Buckman, is an effective and interDr Holzapfel is Director of the Sexual esting communicator; there are Medicine Counseling Unit in the flashes of humour; one can stop and Department ofFamily and Community Medicine at the Women's College Campus start as the mood dictates; the lectures can be viewed in any order; of the Sunnybrook and Women's College and the lectures inform and educate Health Sciences Centre. in a manner that holds the attention. The varied topics flow logically, if you want to view them that way. The first disk offers the basics: the 4Es (engage, empathize, educate, enlist) and E (expectations of the patient), and the CLASS system (context, lisA PRACTICAL GUIDE TO tening skills, acknowledgment, COMMUNICATION SKILLS strategy, summary). On another IN CLINICAL PRACTICE Dr Buckman adds his own disk, AUTHOR: Dr Robert Buckman patented mnemonic for breaking Medical Audio Visual Communications bad news: SPIKES, a variant of the Inc, PO Box 84548, 2336 Bloor St W, class system. Toronto, ON M6S 1T0; website The three other disks cover comwww.movc.com mon situations in medical practice: 1998/$175 (set of four CD-ROMs) handling emotions, hidden agendas, M inimum computer requirements: breaking bad news, difficult situaPentium 100 Mhz, Windows 3.1, tions, children and their parents, end thousands of colours, sound card, of life issues, and genetic testing and 4X CD-ROM, 16-MB RAM, 20-MB free counseling. I found it impossible to disk space or Macintosh System 7, forego any topic. Each scenario thousands of colours, 2X CD-ROM, offered me some pearl I had either 16-MB RAM, 20-MB free disk space misplaced or, frankly, never knew. The video clips are superb and are OVERALL RATING Excellent used appropriately to emphasize and STRENGTHS No missing topics, expand on topics. The "patients" are complete, entertaining and educational actors, but the situations are unscriptWEAKNESSES The odd program bug ed and unrehearsed. They truly reflect reality, not some unknown individual's AUDIENCE Physicians, physiciansimpression of it. in-training, and others in the health I found two bugs and one annoycare arena ance in the disks (much better than T hese disks comprise a class- average for computer programs). room slide show in a high-tech During the guided tour of the disks,
Classroom slide show on CD-ROM
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Dr Buckman advises us to press the "continue" button on the left. I think that button was hidden on the copy I was provided. Viewing the video clips in isolation from the related topics presents problems because some of the clips are mislabeled. I like to think this is just Dr Buckman's sense of humour. The annoyance is partly my own fault. I have a tendency to play with a program before I use it properly, and I was perplexed as to the function of the "notes" buttons on the screen. The explanation came only when I ran through the entire overview. Help functions are really not necessary, but make sure you look at the entire overview. I like to allow myself a wish list when reviewing computer programs. I wish that the program were truly interactive, with the ability to attach personal notes to each vignette. I also wish that this program were made compulsory for those who do not believe that communication skills can be taught, learned, or improved. "Emotion-handling is not an intuitive God-given gift; it is a learned skill that consists of techniques," quotes Dr Buckman. Amen. These disks are an excellent replacement for and improvement on a classroom course in communications, save that they do not allow for interactive tutorials. I am not usually this effusive, but this program is a must for anybody dealing face-to-face with people in potential crisis situations: physicians, medical students, and residents; law enforcement officers; and, dare I add, our colleagues in the legal profession. Even veterinarians. Technical help is available via a toll-free line. -Dr Ronald Smuckler, MD Dr Smuciker practises family medicine in Willowdale, Ont. He often sits on a radiator next to a patient and waits an average of 31.5 seconds before he interrupts a patient.
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