Medicine can be inspiring and infuriating

In commenting on the continuing popularity of the On Being a Doctor section in Annals of Internal Medicine, Drs. Laine and LaCombe write, "Why is it that stories about illness and physicians attract such an eager audience" One reason is that diagnosing and treating disease often contains elements of high drama. Second, an aura of mystery often surrounds the medical profession. Lastly, many doctors themselves are wonderful storytellers."

About the Editors

Christine Laine, MD, MPH, Senior Deputy Editor of Annals of Internal Medicine, is a clinician, researcher, and medical educator who has worked in medical journalism for more than a decade. After receiving an undergraduate degree in writing at Hamilton College, she completed medical school at State University of New York at Stony Brook, internal medicine residency training at New York Hospital Cornell University Medical College, and fellowship training in general internal medicine and clinical epidemiology at Beth Israel Hospital Harvard Medical School. She is a clinical associate professor at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia.

Michael A. LaCombe, MD, MACP, has developed a career that blends writing with practicing medicine. He is a graduate of Harvard Medical School, has practiced medicine for over 30 years in rural Maine, and is former director of cardiology at Maine General Medical Center in Augusta. He is the author of "Medicine Made Clear: House Calls from a Maine Country Doctor" (Dirigo Press, 1989). Dr. LaCombe is working on two anthologies -- one of poetry, one of prose -- to be published in 2008.

To order "On Being a Doctor 3," visit the ACP Web site:

https://www.acponline.org/atpro/timssnet/catalog/books/obd3.htm. List price is $29.95; ACP Members pay $25.95. The hardcover book has 384 pages.