The Good Old Days

About the Book

About the Author

The author, Dr. George Halpern, is a retired family physician who practiced for 30 years, and in his retirement turned to writing as a second career. These stories are based on his medical experiences and are in part true and in part fiction. Most people today would not recognize the world of Ben Needles, before the term primary care practitioner came into being. These stories shed light on the not too distant time when medicine was practiced with a view of the whole person within the social setting. Dr. Needles’ patients turn to him in times of crisis, not just medical emergencies. He represents the diminishing breed of physicians who is more than a diagnostician. He is part psychiatrist, part trusted confidant, and primarily a problem-solver. His medical adventures are lived out the setting of his office, the community hospital, and the patient’s home. Most physicians who are clinicians will find the stories reminiscent of their own past practices and novices and medical students will be challenged to compare current approaches and therapies to those of another era. The theme that Dr. Halpern weaves into every tale reveals the all too frail human condition.