How Doctors Think

It makes perfect sense when you reflect on it, but Groopman's description of the Bayesian indoctrination of doctor training provides a lot of insight into the common conflicts or deficits of medical interaction. The takeaways aren't simplistic so much as simply reinforcing that patients and peers should remember that doctors are human. Cognitive errors are common, no matter how elite and trained a professional is. Patient advocacy and a deeper engagement with a specialist's rationale is not easy to appreciate or apply until you realize just how often common medical conventions prevent them from even being considered.

Very informative.
Recommend to anyone wanting to know How Doctors Think, even Doctors themselves.

Dr. Groopman's main thesis is that doctors are mere mortals, subject to (potentially damaging) cognitive errors - and we, as educated patients, should be prepared to gently steer doctors away from these potential pitfalls. He also makes an interesting case against Big Pharma and economization of health care, particularly the profit-driven, efficiency-oriented, Bayesian-updating system of algorithm-spouting automatons (instead of real live doctors). Moral of the story: we should tolerate uncertainty - welcome it, even - instead of hiding it under the rug and forging ahead with (sometimes) misguided diagnoses.

At times harrowing, often moving, overall illuminating.