{"paper_id":"b1d72ede-89cd-4088-9ff5-766e2adaa0a7","body_text":"The Hands-on Guide to Clinical Reasoning \nin Medicine\nMujammil Irfan\nWiley-Blackwell, 2019, PB, 368pp, £29.19, \n978-1119244035\nDEVELOPING CLINICAL REASONING\nThe Hands-on Guide to Clinical Reasoning \nin Medicine  aims to provide a practical \napproach to undertake clinical reasoning \nfor medical students in their training years, \nnewly qualified doctors, and advanced \nnurse practitioners.\nThe book is written in an informal, \nconversational style with a friendly and \ncoaching feel. To engage fully with this \nbook, a reader must have a good working \nknowledge of a range of medical conditions.\nThe book is organised into clinical \nspecialties including respiratory neurology \nand endocrinology. Each section is set \nout to provide an introduction to the \ntopic including history taking, clinical \nexamination, pathophysiology, and key \ninvestigations. The reader is challenged \nby a series of simulated clinical scenarios \nto evoke guided clinical reasoning. As \na chapter progresses, further clinical \ninformation is presented to develop a \ncase. Although readers can dip in and \nout of chapters, the glossary is a must to \nunderstand the acronyms used and the \nreader must consult the chapter guide.\nMujammil Irfan uses mind maps as \nrepresentations of potential thought \nprocesses to guide the reader through \nunderstanding clinical reasoning. For a \nnovice without developed patterns of clinical \nreasoning, each section may require a little \nmore consideration; however, these could \nbe easily parallel within clinical scenarios \nseen in early practice or discussed within \nmedical school training. Reviewing this \nas a doctor qualified for a few years, the \nquestions are thought provoking, with a \npatient at the centre. The prompts in the \ntext serve as a useful guide to develop skills \nin clinical reasoning.\nBernadeta Bridgwood,\nGP, Hannage Brook Medical Centre, Derbyshire. \nEmail: exchangejic@gmail.com\nDOI: https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp20X710597\n* * * * *\nPlease Read This Leaflet Carefully\nKaren Havelin\nDead Ink, 2019, PB, 320pp, £9.83, 978-\n1911585541\nUNDERSTANDING ENDOMETRIOSIS\nIt would be impossible to read this book \nand not have gained insight into the \nphysical, mental, and emotional pain of \nendometriosis. Please Read This Leaflet \nCarefully  graphically depicts the suffering \ncaused by endometriosis and sections \nleave the reader exhausted. \nStarting with her character Laura’s life \nas a single mother in New York, relishing \nsome of the freedom it brings, Havelin \ntraces her past back to her childhood \nin Norway where she endured multiple \nallergies and, despite this, was a keen and \naccomplished figure skater. She describes \nLaura’s ambivalent relationship with her \nparents, especially her mother, and about \nher sexuality. There is a page-turning \nquality in her description of the challenges \nof her relationships and the love story \nelement of it is compelling. Her dilemma, \nas a woman with a debilitating illness, about \nthe ethics of bringing a child into the world \nwill resonate with the equivalent dilemma \nbeing faced by many people contemplating \npregnancy but concerned about the effects \nof climate change.\nThe detailed and harrowing descriptions \nof the effects of endometriosis mean \nthat the book is not a comfortable read \nand her reference to the lack of listening \nand understanding of various health \nprofessionals ( ‘Doctors barely hear what \nyou say’ ) make it even less comfortable: \n‘If you’re too hysterical, they write you off. \nIf you’re too calm, they do the same.’  The \nbook chronicles Laura’s coming to terms \nwith her body and some of the psychological \njourney could be applied to anyone living, or \ntrying to live, with any chronic, debilitating \nillness. \nWork done by Dr Kate Young, public \nhealth researcher at Monash University in \nAustralia, has uncovered how doctors can fill \nknowledge gaps with ‘hysteria narratives’, \nand she has found that this is especially \nlikely to happen with endometriosis.  Prior to \nthe 1990s women were routinely excluded \nfrom clinical trials and, even now, based on \nunbiased assumptions about risk, women \nare often misdiagnosed, for example, in \ncardiac disease.\nThis book joins several others highlighting \nthe biases and prejudicial attitudes \nafflicting many women’s health problems. \nBecause this is such an important subject \nand because this book is such a good read, \nit richly deserves to be included in GP \nteaching reading lists. \nLesley Morrison, \nRetired GP, Scottish Borders.\nEmail: lesleyjmorrison3@gmail.com\nDOI: https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp20X710621\nLove Until It Hurts \nFiona Blakemore\nIndependently published, 2019, PB, 454pp, \n£8.99, 978-1697350999\nA MEDICAL PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER\nRuth Cooper is a young GP, recently \nreturned from Australia and recovering \nfrom a personal trauma, and working under \nLife & Times\nBooks\n350  British Journal of General Practice, July 2020","source_license":"public-domain-us","license_restricted":false}