Books and
Cooks West
March 2003
Complications by Atul Gawande
Complications: A Surgeon's
Notes on an Imperfect Science
by Atul Gawande
Dawn and Jared's place
March 22 at 5:30 PM
Veggie lasagna, salad, red wine, angel food cake
Our rating: 4.4 cups of tea!
From
Amazon
Gently dismantling the myth of medical infallibility, Dr. Atul
Gawande's Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science
is essential reading for anyone involved in medicine--on either end of
the stethoscope. Medical professionals make mistakes, learn on the job,
and improvise much of their technique and self-confidence. Gawande's
tales are humane and passionate reminders that doctors are people, too.
His prose is thoughtful and deeply engaging, shifting from sometimes
painful stories of suffering patients (including his own child) to
intriguing suggestions for improving medicine with the same care he
expresses in the surgical theater. Some of his ideas will make health
care providers nervous or even angry, but his disarming style,
confessional tone, and thoughtful arguments should win over most
readers. Complications is a book with heart and an excellent
bedside manner, celebrating rather than berating doctors for being
merely human. --Rob Lightner
