Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science | Atul Gawande

Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science | Atul Gawande | Science Giveth - And Science Taketh Away

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Complications: A S...

	Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science Atul Gawande Metropolitan Books, 2002 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 156 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Required reading...

This book, House of God by Samuel Shem, and Hospital Survival: Lessons Learned in Medical Training by Grant Cooper should all be required reading for ANY medical student or resident. Too scary, real, and entertaning....these books teach, inspire, and warn....all in their own way.

Science Giveth - And Science Taketh Away

These are words my general pathology prof tells his class every quarter. And indeed, that is what happens in real life, sometimes in a matter of seconds.

Anyway, before purchasing this book, I wanted to know what happens behind the scenes - the office politics everyone has to deal, 17-hour shifts as an intern, how docs deal with making life & death mistakes, regrets made in the OR, unusual diseases, difficult patients, prima donnas, and so forth.

I was not disappointed. Dr. Gawande has a way with words that makes this book a great read, even for people like myself - someone who is not a great reader. My mind could make pictures from his words as if I were watching a very special movie. He paints a face on the mysterious surgeon that every reader can relate with. The surgeon becomes a real person that deals with conflict every day. The surgeon is human and must sometimes act fast. Not everything goes by the book and sometimes he finds his own judgment is literally, dead wrong.

I may read this book again soon - after I read Dr. Gawande's new book.

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Great book

It's a great book. What more can I say? Read it if you are going into medicine. It is a great example of fine writing produced by a physican on the topic of medicine.

best med essays

Dr. Gawande's book is one of my recent favarites. If you watch ER, Grey's Anatomy, this is a must have!

Excellent stories - few new insights into health care

I read this book on the advice of a health care policy expert. It's very well written and I enjoyed the stories, which rang true, illustrated the challenges of 'practicing medicine' well, and offered some perspective on health care quality and administration. Particularly for someone with limited health care experience, this book may be very interesting.

Despite the personal recommendation that led me to the book, I didn't find new insights into health care quality and policy. On the other hand, I've since heard the mentioned by others in health care quality and policy. It is an easy book to read, so it's probably a useful read just for the 'networking' and 'cocktail party' value.

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