McWhinney's Textbook of Family Medicine, 4th Edition Doody's Expert Review Review Questionnaire ISBN: 9780199370689 ISBN-10: 0199370680 Copyright: 2016 Edition: 4th Author: Freeman, Thomas R. Doody's Expert Review    Score: 100 Doody's Star Rating™ and Doody's Expert Review provide by Doody Enterprises, Inc. Reviewer: Vincent Carr,  DO, MSA, FACC, FACP  (Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences) Description This is the fourth edition of a Canadian book on family medicine that updates the 2009 edition. Purpose The author describes the purpose as defining and conceptualizing the field of knowledge in family medicine, noting that it has the potential for encountering even the rarest of diagnoses and so its practitioners must take a different approach to patients than the usual organ-system approach to diagnosis. Audience The audience includes anyone who is involved in primary care medicine. Although the title includes "family medicine," the book has enormous utility for general internal medicine practitioners, advanced practice nurse practitioners, and physician assistants, as well as specialists who routinely provide primary care to their patients, such as gynecologists. Features The book is divided into four sections on basic principles, clinical problems, the practice of family medicine and education and research. Chapters in each section cover topics such as principles of family medicine, illness, suffering and healing, clinical methods, musculoskeletal pain, diabetes, multimorbidity, stewardship of resources, patient information and data, alternative and complementary medicine, and continuing self-education. Throughout, chapters include case studies with intuitive tables and figures, supplemented by relevant evidence references. Assessment As the author points out in the preface, this is not an ordinary organ-based book of facts, but a book on the philosophy of family medicine. It is an outstanding treatise on primary care medicine as a way of life. Review Questionnaire Range Question Score 1-10 Are the author's objectives met? 10 1-10 Rate the worthiness of those objectives. 10 1-5 Is this written at an appropriate level? 5 1-5 Is there significant duplication? (1=significant, 5=insignificant) 5 1-5 Are there significant omissions? (1=significant, 5=insignificant) 5 1-5 Rate the authority of the authors. 5 1-5 Are there sufficient illustrations? N/A 1-5 Rate the pedagogic value of the illustrations. N/A 1-5 Rate the print quality of the illustrations. N/A 1-5 Are there sufficient references? 5 1-5 Rate the currency of the references. 5 1-5 Rate the pertinence of the references. 5 1-5 Rate the helpfulness of the index. 5 1-5 If important in this specialty, rate the physical appearance of the book N/A 1-10 Is this a worthwhile contribution to the field? 10 1-10 If this is a 2nd or later edition, is this new edition needed? 10 ©2025 Doody Enterprises, Inc.