Lenka S. reviewed Confessions of a Surgeon: The Good, the Bad, and the Complicated...Life Behind the O.R. Doors on + 819 more book reviews
In USA u are 6x more likely to be killed by a Doctor then a gun!
Not in the book but you will find out why....
The book is a mixture of short stories, memoirs and description of hard work, seeing the result of the years of the total dedication, from nothing to somewhat faulty "godhood". I get the feeling that I would trust Dr. Ruggieri if he were my surgeon. I think that he takes the correct approach by writing something like, "Emotion has no place in the operating room. There will be time for emotion with the patient and the families afterwards.
Dr. Ruggieri covers a lot of ground in his book, everything from the years of training he had to go through to become a surgeon; what it's like to be considered a "safe surgeon," an expression in which he's not completely fond, and flying solo for the first time; becoming a better surgeon through time and experience; the politics of not only hospitals but also the health-care system as a whole; and, well, Robots. Yeah, Robots. I'll capitalize it since they are becoming so important. But they seem to be rolling around everywhere nowadays and I think we'll be seeing more and more of them in the future. Personally I don't really completely fear Robots myself as they serve a purpose as long as everyone is honest about their limitations. But I do agree with Dr. Ruggieri's opinion that eventually Robots might take over for surgeons completely. That day is a very long time in the future though. I mean, if a Robot can barely fold your laundry are you going to trust "him" or "her" to remove your appendix? I'm not sure I would at this point.
But my favorite parts of Dr. Ruggieri's books are when he discusses his patients. Their cases, what he did to save them -- in a few cases not save them -- and their personal stories. I liked those sections the best. Like when Dr. Ruggieri had a patient that demanded to go home, even though that patient was critical, to take care of his dog. Dr. Ruggieri held that patient down and agreed to head to his house immediately after surgery, collect the dog, and make sure that dog was taken care of for the week or two that the patient would be laid up in the hospital recovering. Those stories are not only amusing but they will give you some brief understanding that MDs are not just these "Gods" we look up to to save us, but also humans with feelings and life of their own.
Now the bad: The writing, where it is NOT in the form of story-telling is slow, dragging a bit, and dry and quite a bit repetitive. He quoted data about people dying of hospital errors 2x (exactly the same copy pasted paragraph). Hospital caused infections 2x (exactly the same copy pasted paragraph), and numerous sections on why surgeons should be pushed beyond 80h week to be more skilled, while arguing that 120h weeks create high volume of errors citing statistics, numerous times within the book. It tempts reader to skip pages. Also it is obvious that the book is written by an MD and not a creative writer. You read it for content rather for enjoyment. Problem is that much of what he writes is either common knowledge (for me) or is suspected by the people who pay attention to what is happening in the medical field. To people who do not, this book will be an eyeopener.
Not in the book but you will find out why....
The book is a mixture of short stories, memoirs and description of hard work, seeing the result of the years of the total dedication, from nothing to somewhat faulty "godhood". I get the feeling that I would trust Dr. Ruggieri if he were my surgeon. I think that he takes the correct approach by writing something like, "Emotion has no place in the operating room. There will be time for emotion with the patient and the families afterwards.
Dr. Ruggieri covers a lot of ground in his book, everything from the years of training he had to go through to become a surgeon; what it's like to be considered a "safe surgeon," an expression in which he's not completely fond, and flying solo for the first time; becoming a better surgeon through time and experience; the politics of not only hospitals but also the health-care system as a whole; and, well, Robots. Yeah, Robots. I'll capitalize it since they are becoming so important. But they seem to be rolling around everywhere nowadays and I think we'll be seeing more and more of them in the future. Personally I don't really completely fear Robots myself as they serve a purpose as long as everyone is honest about their limitations. But I do agree with Dr. Ruggieri's opinion that eventually Robots might take over for surgeons completely. That day is a very long time in the future though. I mean, if a Robot can barely fold your laundry are you going to trust "him" or "her" to remove your appendix? I'm not sure I would at this point.
But my favorite parts of Dr. Ruggieri's books are when he discusses his patients. Their cases, what he did to save them -- in a few cases not save them -- and their personal stories. I liked those sections the best. Like when Dr. Ruggieri had a patient that demanded to go home, even though that patient was critical, to take care of his dog. Dr. Ruggieri held that patient down and agreed to head to his house immediately after surgery, collect the dog, and make sure that dog was taken care of for the week or two that the patient would be laid up in the hospital recovering. Those stories are not only amusing but they will give you some brief understanding that MDs are not just these "Gods" we look up to to save us, but also humans with feelings and life of their own.
Now the bad: The writing, where it is NOT in the form of story-telling is slow, dragging a bit, and dry and quite a bit repetitive. He quoted data about people dying of hospital errors 2x (exactly the same copy pasted paragraph). Hospital caused infections 2x (exactly the same copy pasted paragraph), and numerous sections on why surgeons should be pushed beyond 80h week to be more skilled, while arguing that 120h weeks create high volume of errors citing statistics, numerous times within the book. It tempts reader to skip pages. Also it is obvious that the book is written by an MD and not a creative writer. You read it for content rather for enjoyment. Problem is that much of what he writes is either common knowledge (for me) or is suspected by the people who pay attention to what is happening in the medical field. To people who do not, this book will be an eyeopener.
