This collection of articles has been well chosen to give a review of the important issues involving the Impaired Physician. Each chapter is offered by a member of the Association of Academic Psychiatry. A flow has been obtained with the ordering of articles through definition of physicians' emotional problems; the interface of medical school and impairment, treatment, and special problems; and, finally, the role of organized medicine with conclusions and recommendations.
The most controversial and threatening topics have extended coverage and proper inclusion. This specifically includes problems involving women physicians and suicides, along with the more common problems of alcoholism and drug abuse in general. The only disappointment is insufficient emphasis and information on the use and involvement of Alcoholics Anonymous in prevention, intervention, and rehabilitation of impaired physicians.
The extensive bibliography and listing of State Medical Society-Specialty Society Programs for impaired physicians is excellent and makes this volume a