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The Placebo Chronicles

by Douglas Farrago M. D.

The Placebo Chronicles Cover

ISBN13: 9780767919494
ISBN10: 0767919491
All Product Details

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

True Tales of the ridiculous, the silly, and the just plain weird cases doctors face — lampooning the medical bureaucracy that makes practicing medicine and getting medical care such a headache.

Doctors have a sick sense of humor. This is the deep, dark, and hilarious secret of the medical profession revealed by the irreverent Dr. Douglas Farrago in his popular satirical magazine, Placebo Journal — affectionately known by its thousands of fanatic readers as "Mad magazine for doctors" and called, by U.S. News.com, "raunchy, adolescent, and very funny." Now, in The Placebo Chronicles, Dr. Farrago has compiled the best of the most outrageous and uproarious true stories to come out of the ERs and examination rooms of doctors all over the country.

Submitted by actual physicians, these are the stories they tell each other at cocktail parties and in doctors' lounges, trading sidesplitting and truly unusual tales of their most embarrassing medical moments, the grossest things they've ever seen in medicine, their favorite Munchausen patients, and much more, including "The X-Ray Files" — mind-boggling anecdotes and images of the oddest foreign objects doctors have removed from patients. Not for the faint of heart, the humor in The Placebo Chronicles is brutally funny — just what the doctor ordered to guard against the ill effects of an M.D.'s worst enemies: the Medical Axis of Evil, a.k.a. drug companies, HMOs, and malpractice insurers.

Fully illustrated with fake advertisements — for pseudopharmaceuticals like OxyCotton Candy and Indifferex (the mediocre antidepressant) — this refreshingly honest collection invites doctors and patients alike to share the laughter, a liberal dose of the very best medicine.

Review:

"In this admittedly vulgar but entertaining compilation, family physician Farrago brings together some of the most ridiculous doctor jokes and real-life medical stories sent in by readers of his bi-weekly Placebo Journal. Like the journal, the book is intended as comic relief for physicians who could use a pain pill or two. The stories and anecdotes are organized by the stage that they are likely to apply in a doctor's career (during medical school, residency, etc.), but that doesn't keep the book from feeling like a jumbled assortment of annoying patient complaints (irregular bowels, etc.), jokes about pharmaceutical reps and false ads for items such as 'The First ADHD Medications for Children In-Utero' and Cameloft, an antidepressant cigarette ('It's chic, it's uplifting and it's just what the doctor ordered'). But each section does include some unifying themes like 'X-Ray Files,' x-ray images of items stuck in unusual places, and 'Those Darn Narc Seekers,' stories of patients who seek prescription drugs for non-existent ailments. As Farrago points out in his introduction, the Latin definition of the word 'placebo' is 'to give pleasure,' and those who appreciate the occasional crude joke will find a little of that here. However, this book is not recommended as waiting room reading." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

"Placebo Journal is juvenile. It's immature. It's politically incorrect. It's also very funny." Washington Post

Synopsis:

Submitted by actual physicians, these are the stories they tell each other at cocktail parties and in doctors' lounges, trading sidesplitting and truly unusual tales of their most embarrassing medical moments, the grossest things they've ever seen in medicine, their favorite Munchausen patients, and much more.

About the Author

DR. Douglas Farrago is a family physician who started the bimonthly Placebo Journal in 2000. A frequent lecturer and media commentator, Dr. Farrago lives in Auburn, Maine.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:

RWMondak, September 27, 2006 (view all comments by RWMondak)
I plan on initiating a malpractice suit against Dr Farrago. I was injured in a fall because my chair gave way while laughing and can no longer see patients. Wait a minute, I've changed my mind. I will still see patients, but only because I love humanity and am looking for an anecdote to submit to the bimonthly Placebo Journal.

Okay, a real editorial comment:

Lab Coat: Free from the Medical Clinic
Stethoscope: Gratis from a Pharmaceutic Rep about 15 years ago
Professional Liability Insurance: $$$$$

True-life reports from colleagues which make you exude all the four Humours at once: PRICELESS!!


*Non-medical professionals reading this book should realize that we really do not prey on those who come to us for health care, looking for the unusual, absurd or just wierd presentations. They are given to us by Providence and we, in turn have presented them as an offering to "The King of Medicine". (Dr Farrago)

Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(6 of 12 readers found this comment helpful)

Product Details

ISBN:
9780767919494
Publisher:
Broadway Books
Subject:
General
Illustrator:
Marshall, Gordon W.
Author:
Illustrations by Gordon W. Marshall
Author:
Farrago, Douglas
Author:
Marshall, Gordon W.
Author:
Douglas Farrago, M.D.
Author:
Farrago, Douglas Md
Author:
Illustrations by Gordon W. Marshall
Subject:
Medicine
Subject:
Topic - Business and Professional
Subject:
Placebo (medicine)
Subject:
Placebos (Medicine)
Subject:
General Humor
Edition Description:
Trade paper
Publication Date:
April 2005
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
, Y
Pages:
190
Dimensions:
9.26x6.18x.52 in. .76 lbs.
The Placebo Chronicles
0 stars - 0 reviews
$ In Stock
Product details 190 pages Broadway Books - English 9780767919494 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "In this admittedly vulgar but entertaining compilation, family physician Farrago brings together some of the most ridiculous doctor jokes and real-life medical stories sent in by readers of his bi-weekly Placebo Journal. Like the journal, the book is intended as comic relief for physicians who could use a pain pill or two. The stories and anecdotes are organized by the stage that they are likely to apply in a doctor's career (during medical school, residency, etc.), but that doesn't keep the book from feeling like a jumbled assortment of annoying patient complaints (irregular bowels, etc.), jokes about pharmaceutical reps and false ads for items such as 'The First ADHD Medications for Children In-Utero' and Cameloft, an antidepressant cigarette ('It's chic, it's uplifting and it's just what the doctor ordered'). But each section does include some unifying themes like 'X-Ray Files,' x-ray images of items stuck in unusual places, and 'Those Darn Narc Seekers,' stories of patients who seek prescription drugs for non-existent ailments. As Farrago points out in his introduction, the Latin definition of the word 'placebo' is 'to give pleasure,' and those who appreciate the occasional crude joke will find a little of that here. However, this book is not recommended as waiting room reading." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
"Review" by , "Placebo Journal is juvenile. It's immature. It's politically incorrect. It's also very funny."
"Synopsis" by , Submitted by actual physicians, these are the stories they tell each other at cocktail parties and in doctors' lounges, trading sidesplitting and truly unusual tales of their most embarrassing medical moments, the grossest things they've ever seen in medicine, their favorite Munchausen patients, and much more.
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