About this title: Like all doctors, Sherwin Nuland collects stories, and over thirty years in the practice of surgery, he has collected a consider number of both his own stories as well as the stories of surgeons he has worked with and admires. The remarkable stories told in this book are filled with the lessons of humanity. They describe that sacrosanct connection ...
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Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Kaplan Publishing
Date Published: 2009-04-14
ISBN-13:9781607140559ISBN:1607140551
Description: New. New, unread, unused & in perfect condition with no damaged or missing pages. This is a paperback with same cover and pre-release stickers. This book is the same isbn, but is a paperback. Great Copy. Ships Lightning Fast. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Kaplan Publishing
Date Published: 2009-04-14
ISBN-13:9781607140559ISBN:1607140551
Description: New. New, unread, unused & in perfect condition with no damaged or missing pages. This is a paperback with same cover and pre-release stickers. This book is the same isbn, but is a paperback. Great Copy. Ships Lightning Fast. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Kaplan Publishing
Date Published: 2009-04-14
ISBN-13:9781607140559ISBN:1607140551
Description: New. New, unread, unused & in perfect condition with no damaged or missing pages. This is a paperback with same cover and pre-release stickers. This book is the same isbn, but is a paperback. Great Copy. Ships Lightning Fast. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Kaplan
Date Published: 2009-04-14
ISBN-13:9781607140559ISBN:1607140551
Description: NEW. Hardcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9781607140559. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Kaplan Publishing
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781607140559ISBN:1607140551
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Description: Satisfaction Guaranteed. Shipped quickly. 2009. Hardcover. 1 Ed. Used, very good. Very good overall with light to moderate wear. No dust jacket. read more
Description: New. Like all doctors, Sherwin Nuland collects stories, and over thirty years in the practice of surgery, he has collected a consider number of both his own stories as well as the stories of surgeons he has worked with and admires. The remarkable stories... read more
"I'm not quite finished, but so far...eh. The best moments of this book are completely overlooked by the narrator. Moments of patient-doctor interaction that have potential to really shine as a great example of human connection, but end up coming off as "And here's how I saved THAT person's life". The tone of a lot of the Tales seems to be, well, self-congratulatory, especially the one where two stories are told, and it reads like this: "I did the wrong thing this one time and it cost someone their life, but the next time I did it I saved someone. So even when I'm wrong I'm right." It didn't need to come off that way, and maybe it wasn't supposed to. But the general sense of condescension towards alternative medicine rubbed me the wrong way, especially when you consider the glorification of the physical exam and the pitfalls of relying too much on technology vs. hands on care that appears in the Geriatrician's Tale. Hands on, thorough physical exams (including examining the tongue) are hallmarks of many "alternative" modalities, such as acupuncture and midwifery. So while the author seems to feel like he's making some major insight or discovery, it's something that has actually been trampled on and phased out by his own brilliant field.
I read and reviewed the book Nuland wrote about childbed fever and Ignac Semelweiss, and I believe I found basically the same pattern. Nuland tells a very compelling story, and you're pulled into the drama...and then at the end draws a completely different conclusion than seems logical, at least to me.
Last of all there is a SUPER bizarre paragraph in the Anesthesiologist's Tale that I have related to several people and still can't wrap my head around.
I love reading medical narratives, I'm heading to nursing school myself, and I know lots of wonderful, compassionate doctors. If I believed that the tales in this book truly reflect "The Soul of Medicine", I'm sure my esteem of doctors in general would be a fair bit lower. In the end, I did enjoy the stories in this book, but to me they are stories of amazing PATIENTS and not so much amazing doctors."
"I am usually fond of works by physician-writers, as I aspire to be one myself. This is a charming set of stories about the doctor-patient interaction. Yet since Sherwin Nuland aimed for this collection of bedside tales to be a "sort of Cantebury Tales of medicine," unfortunately I would have to say it fell short of his goal. Dr. Nuland might have asked his friends and colleagues for the story about their most memorable paient. Each chapter is called the 's Tale; some are followed by his Narrator's Commentary. It was a bit confusing as to whose voice was actually speaking since both are written first-person, but the Tale itself was written down and fictionalized by Dr. Nuland (to protect identities.) They take place in "Cantebury" -- a thinly-veiled Yale where Dr. Nuland practiced surgery. Most of the stories revolve around surgery, depsite the "author's" speciality. Usually such stories are most profound when they focus on the patient-doctor interaction and the medical case, but many had substantial prefaces which delayed the story. Nonetheless, I would recommend The Soul of Medicine to those interested in medical stories."
"Great stories about doctors from a variety of fields and their most memorable patients. I enjoyed the relatively short stories and the brief commentaries that followed many. The book provides a unique window into the doctor side of the doctor-patient relationship.
I agree with my brother's review--these are exceptional stories, much like the moments on the COPS show that don't end up on the cutting room floor. This book includes the most extreme stories, not the boring day-to-day stuff (just as COPS never airs the eight-hour stakeouts, for example). These samples are not too misleading however, as so many open with, "Well, the Narrator asked me to share the story of my most memorable patient...." With a set-up like that, you're bound to get the unusual.
To its credit, these stories make great reading. Some of them are just outrageous--the sort of thing you can't wait to repeat to someone while their jaw drops to the floor.
One thing that was odd was Nuland's efforts to conceal locations and identities. As the "Narrator," he speaks repeatedly of a teaching hospital he calls "Canterbury." Because Nuland is employed by Yale, I can't help but assume Canterbury is Yale. Yet, this is a non-fiction book, and Nuland commends the work of his peers by what looks like their REAL names). Or maybe not. But I found this confusing. If it were up to me, all identifying facts about patients would be changed, and the names of doctors and hospitals would be printed correctly. (Except, perhaps, the name of the malpracticing doctor and the hospital that employed him.)
Somehow I read a pre-released editor's version, with a few chapters out of order which was odd, and surely corrected in the final edition."
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