Pediatric Interviewing : A Practical, Relationship-Based Approach

Ô ObivoV brac ?vV, eJ de teJcnh makrhv Life is short, [the] art long ―Hippocrates Pediatric Interviewing: A Practical, Relationship Based Approach by James Binder is filled with a unique blend of wisdom, experience, and evidence, which will serve as a guide and as a reminder that what comes first in the care of the patient is the language and the silences that are shared between patient and physician. The medical interview quickly establishes the type of caring relati- ship the two will share. In this age of electronic medical records, pay-forperformance, and evidence-based medicine it is easy to lose sight that medicine is fundamentally about one person who has knowledge and experience providing care for another individual who is asking for help. How the physician organizes his or her interactions has an important impact on the experience and o- comes for both the physician and for the patient. Dr. Binder presents a conceptual framework with which to approach interviewing and illustrates this framework with pr- tical examples from years of teaching and practice. Physicia- intraining will find this book filled with wisdom and much needed recommendations about how to approach the medical interview. For those of us who have been in practice a number of years, Dr. Binder’s book can serve as a refreshing opportunity to reflect in detail about something many of us take for granted – the c- plexity of the medical interview.

Clear and effective communication in a clinical context has enormous benefits, and especially in pediatrics, where assessing patients’ symptoms is more challenging. Clinicians who interview well gather extra data, to be sure, but also gain from a number of other positive outcomes, from happier patients to fewer law suits.

The unique perspective on pediatric interviewing offered in this book reflects the author’s breadth of training and experience, which includes being a solo pediatric practitioner for ten years and completing a residency in psychiatry and child psychiatry. Currently associate professor of pediatrics at the Marshall University School of Medicine, Prof. Binder has taught pediatrics and interviewing to successive generations of medical students. His easy-to-read, compelling, and comprehensive guide outlines effective strategies for interviewing parents and children efficiently. Topics covered include engaging patients and families, efficiently and smoothly obtaining a history of present illness and making a good differential diagnosis, uncovering hidden agendas, collaborative discussion in diagnosis and treatment, practicing family oriented care, taking a full social history, and all other aspects of carrying out the pediatric interview.

Offering clear, practical tips and a wide range of targeted case examples, this invaluable title seamlessly combines the biological and psychological aspects of patient care. Based on relationship theory, the underlying foundation of successful clinical interviewing and a major determinant of optimal diagnosis and treatment, this is an indispensable guide for all clinicians engaged in the care of children and adolescents.