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Hot Lights, Cold Steel : Life, Death and Sleepless Nights in a Surgeon's First Years
Hot Lights Cold Steel Life Death and Sleepless Nights in a Surgeon's First Years
Author: Michael J. Collins
When Michael Collins decides to become a surgeon, he is totally unprepared for the chaotic life of a resident at a major hospital. A natural overachiever, Collins' success, in college and medical school led to a surgical residency at one of the most respected medical centers in the world, the famed Mayo Clinic. But compared to his fellow resid...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780312337780
ISBN-10: 0312337787
Publication Date: 2/1/2005
Pages: 320
Rating:
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 11

4.1 stars, based on 11 ratings
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed Hot Lights, Cold Steel : Life, Death and Sleepless Nights in a Surgeon's First Years on + 5 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A fascinating first-person account of medical residency at one of the world's most famous medical facilities. If Dr. Collins tends patients with the same skill he brings to his writing, they are very lucky patients, indeed.
reviewed Hot Lights, Cold Steel : Life, Death and Sleepless Nights in a Surgeon's First Years on + 289 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Hot Nights, Cold Steel is the autobiography of an orthopedic residency. Dr. Michael J. Collins came to the prestigious Mayo Clinic out of medical school feeling unprepared, but through 2 years as a junior resident and 2 as a senior (and then chief) resident, he found the experience worthwhile. Collins manages to pepper the story with salty humor despite the hard times, including horrific traumas, extreme sleep deprivation, and moonlighting at a rural ER to make ends meet for his growing family. (He fathered children 3 children, #2-4 of 12!, during residency.) However, there are also serious moments where the author contemplates the meaning of this never-ending work; such moments becomes more frequent as his seniority grows and the chapters become more spaced out. Like other books in this genre, this is a retrospective approximation which inherently paints the protagonist in a favorable light, the one who preservers. Nonetheless, Hot Nights, Cold Steel is a fine memoir by an orthopod (often stereotyped as the dumb jocks of the medical world) with a truly supportive wife.
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Bookfanatic avatar reviewed Hot Lights, Cold Steel : Life, Death and Sleepless Nights in a Surgeon's First Years on
A great memoir of a former cab-driver turned orthopedic surgeon. This book captures his four years of orthopedic residency at one of the nation's most prestigious hospitals. It's not at all glamorous or high-paid as one might think. You come to realize that doctors are humans just like the rest of us.

Dr. Collins writes in such an engaging, funny, easy to read manner without a lot of medical jargon or posturing to make himself look good. He comes off as an easy-going, down to earth person. You feel as though you're talking to him over a cup of coffee. At times, the book is heartbreaking and and at other moments, it's very humorous. I was whipping through chapter after chapter not realizing how much time had passed.

Highly recommended if you like to read memoirs or you're interested in the medical field.
reviewed Hot Lights, Cold Steel : Life, Death and Sleepless Nights in a Surgeon's First Years on + 301 more book reviews
Far better than House of God. Written with feeling and compassion.
Bookfanatic avatar reviewed Hot Lights, Cold Steel : Life, Death and Sleepless Nights in a Surgeon's First Years on
A great memoir of a former cab-driver turned orthopedic surgeon. This book captures his four years of orthopedic residency at one of the nation's most prestigious hospitals. It's not at all glamorous or high-paid as one might think. You come to realize that doctors are humans just like the rest of us.

Dr. Collins writes in such an engaging, funny, easy to read manner without a lot of medical jargon or posturing to make himself look good. He comes off as an easy-going, down to earth person. You feel as though you're talking to him over a cup of coffee. He talks a lot about what it's like to be a surgical resident. You also glimpse the toll it takes on his wife and two young children. At times, the book is heartbreaking and and at other moments, it's very humorous. I was whipping through chapter after chapter not realizing how much time had passed.

Highly recommended if you like to read memoirs or you're interested in the medical field.


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