Abstract

Does the art of medicine matter? Does it really help us become better doctors and improve results? Dr. Claudia Welch explores how the effectiveness of a physician extends far beyond the ability to prescribe correct treatments, and how mastering the art of doctoring can make the medicine more effective.

Drawing on Eastern medical traditions and experience as well as on Western science, Dr. Welch examines how we know what we know, the mechanics of doctor-patient emotional contagion, and the degree to which a patient's sensory experience in a medical office affects their experience of treatments delivered. Dr. Welch also offers practical steps that doctors can take to cultivate more refined perceptive abilities and improve results.

Dr. Welch's book will be essential reading for all health care practitioners interested in understanding the art of their practice and how it can enhance therapeutic outcomes, including doctors of Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, Naturopathy, as well as western medical professionals and other complementary health practitioners.

Claudia Welch is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, an Ayurvedic practitioner and educator, and the author of Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life: Achieving Optimal Health and Wellness Through Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine and Western Science. Dr. Welch lectures internationally on Oriental and Ayurvedic medicines and Women's Health, bringing a depth of knowledge and a sense of joy to her presentations that has established her as a leading educator in the field of Ayurveda. She has served on the teaching faculty of The Ayurvedic Institute, Kripalu School of Ayurveda, Southwest Acupuncture College, and Acupractice Seminars.
Sir William Osler, the father of western scientific medicine, said, 'the practice of medicine is an art, not a trade, a calling, not a business; a calling in which your heart will be exercised equally with your head.' Dr. Claudia Welch stands in this great tradition. Her book is a clarion call to the spiritual side of medicine, without which healing can never be complete.
Dr. Larry Dossey, MD, author of One Mind: How Our Individual Mind Is Part of a Greater Consciousness and Why It Matters
A wise and compassionate meditation on the art and science of holistic medicine.
Dr. Timothy McCall, MD, author of Yoga as Medicine, Co-editor of The Principles and Practice of Yoga in Health Care and Co-director, The Simply Yoga Institute, Summit, NJ
The concept that a physician can actively cultivate the ability to exert a positive medicinal effect on a patient is a welcome perspective in a world that prioritizes techniques, fad diets, new drugs, remedies, supplements and renegade experimental medicine to address illness. Dr. Claudia Welch teases out unconscious and subconscious assumptions of the modern day physician, and the qualities they engender, shedding light on them from an Eastern medical perspective to offer methods for improvement. This book belongs in the library of every health care practitioner, any patient who wants to know what to look for in one, and indeed any concerned individual who wishes to cultivate good relationships with, and a good influence on, all sentient beings, and our planet.
Dr. Robert Svoboda, BAMS
Dr. Claudia Welch, who has a doctorate in Oriental Medicine and lists among her credentials membership of the National Association of Ayurvedic Medicine as well as the Author's Guild, has written this insightful book about the interlinking of medicine and science... This is a fascinating book that draws many parallels with Western medicine while enlightening us on the complexities of Eastern philosophies, particularly Ayurvedic teachings. It informs and educates us to gain a deeper understanding of health and the world around us.
Dr Anne Parfitt-Rogers
NY Journal of Books - West
Because of her background in Ayurveda, acupuncture, and teaching as well as her spiritual discipline, Dr Claudia Welch has developed the insight to see beyond the physical and to look for the subtle signs of pre-pathological conditions. The practitioner can use the practical steps in this book to guide them beyond lab tests and toward results that are more effective.
Dr. Vasant Lad, B.A.M.S., M.A.Sc., Ayurvedic Physician, and author of Ayurveda: Science of Self-Healing, Textbook of Ayurveda series and more