Motivational Interviewing A Guide for Medical Trainees

This may be the single most important book you ever buy during your medical training. Rotations come and go, exams come and go, but regardless of specialty, patient-care will be at the heart of your practice. It is no exaggeration to say that motivational interviewing (MI) has transformed the way doctors engage with patients, families, and colleagues alike. MI is among the most powerful tools available to promote behavior change in patients. In an age of chronic diseases (diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, obesity), behavior change is no longer limited to substance use or the field of psychiatry – maladaptive choices and behaviors that negatively impact health outcomes are rampant. There is an explosion of research projects using MI or adaptations of MI in the behavioral health medicine field in the past decade. Hospitalizations can’t make people change. How marvelous is it that an evidence-based health behavior change approach (MI) can help people change the outcomes of
their illnesses and the course of their lives.