author
Francis Weld Peabody
1881–1927
A pioneering physician and gifted medical writer, he brought unusual warmth and humanity to the practice of medicine. His essays—especially “The Care of the Patient”—remain valued for their insight into the relationship between doctor and patient.
1 Audiobook
Doctor and patient : Papers on the relationship of the physician to men and institutions
by Francis Weld Peabody
About the author
Francis Weld Peabody (November 24, 1881–October 13, 1927) was an American physician, medical researcher, teacher, and writer from Cambridge, Massachusetts. After graduating from Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, he trained at Massachusetts General Hospital and pursued further study in Europe before beginning his career in internal medicine.
Peabody became known for research on poliomyelitis and typhoid fever and for his influential teaching at Harvard Medical School. He served as a professor of medicine, visiting physician and director of the Thorndike Memorial Laboratory at Boston City Hospital, and a consulting physician at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital.
His published essays include “The Patient and the Man,” “The Care of the Patient,” and “Notes on the Effects of Morphine.” His writing emphasized that good medicine depends not only on scientific knowledge but also on understanding the patient as a whole person.