<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: THE summer read!
Review: Across the Red Line, by Dr.
Richard C. Karl, is every bit as lyrical and well written as Complications and in some ways, both because he is more experienced as a doctor and because of his
unusual experiences as a patient, is more compelling. The similarities and differences between the two books are both instructive. Mr. Gawande is just finishing his surgery residency in Boston, but is already regularly
published in Slate and The New Yorker. Richard Karl is the Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of South Florida College of Medicine and has
a couple of decades as a surgeon under his belt. His writing career (non-technical writing that is) began almost accidentally, when Eugene C. Patterson, editor
emeritus of the St. Petersburg Times, prevailed upon him to write down some of the stories he enjoyed telling about what went on "across the red line", the line that
separates patient and surgical team from the rest of the hospital and family and friends. At least one of the essays here has previously appeared in that paper and
hopefully this book will earn him the wider audience he richly deserves. As in Mr. Gawande's book, one of the best pieces in this collection concerns the ritual of the Morbidity and Mortality Conference, where a doctor presents the details
of a problematic case and his colleagues proceed to grill him on what he might have done differently, kind of a medical version of Prime Minister's Question Time.
Both men are justifiably proud of this tradition, with its emphasis on physicians holding each other accountable and correcting deficiencies in timely fashion. Because Dr. Karl is a teacher, he presents the process of training new surgeons from the opposite perspective that Mr. Gawande gave us. Here we see the mentor
trying to encourage his charges while at the same time keeping them focussed and humble. In one essay he deals with the high drama of Match Day, when students
across the country find out what training program they have matched with and where they are headed for their residency. It's interesting to see how this
emotionally draining event impacts someone whose been through it himself and now has a roting interest where his own students and the incoming residents are
concerned. The most revealing pieces in the book though come when Dr. Karl describes his own encounters with the medical system from the patient's side of the table. In his
first year as an assistant professor at the University of Chicago, the doctor received a needle prick and developed hepatitis. This gave him an appreciation for the
fear that a patient feels (particularly when a somewhat brusque older doctor casually told him, "The last surgeon I treated for hepatitis, died.") and for how precious
his own life is and how important it is to keep such things in perspective. Years later, after wrestling an unruly patient to the floor, he developed a pain between his
shoulders, which eventually turned out to be a broken neck. But in the meantime he endured misdiagnosis, inappropriate humor, the terrifying trauma of an MRI,
the strange sensation of having his name in the patient's spot instead of the doctor's on his hospital wristband, what seems to have been a fairly sketchy surgery, and
some very unsatisfactory results. Most of all, there was one moment where a lack of eye contact, the inability to consult with one of his original doctors, came to
symbolize for him the reason why patients sue. Dr. Karl is extraordinarily open and honest with the reader throughout these essays, from a moving tribute to his father that captures the strange ambivalence of
many sons toward their dads, to a story about guiding a family away from prolonging a patient's life where he wonders if he may have overstepped ethical
boundaries. On this last, I personally think the answer may be, yes he did, but it also seems, from the seriousness with which he approached the situation and the
straightforwardness with which he relates the details, that he deserves the benefit of the doubt. Let's put it this way, after reading this fine book, even if I'd disagree
with Dr. Karl on a few specific issues, I'd be honored and pleased to be under his care and I look forward to reading more of his essays in the future. GRADE : A-
Rating:
Summary: Been there done that
Review: Dick Karl has articulated with skill and sensitivity experiences that are common to many of us in academic surgery. We relate to the stories of triumph and sometimes defeat, of frustration and fear balanced with a sense of confirmation of what we are all about. His style is honest and courageously introspective. The lay reader will be treated to an accurate glimpse into a world they have not likely experienced and gain understanding of the surgeons sometimes fragile humanity.
Rating:
Summary: Across the Red Line
Review: Dr. Karl manages to convey, in simple but unpatronizing language, the complex agony that good surgeons endure--and that's when the operation went WELL!!! His candid expression of self-scrutiny is refreshing. As a surgeon, it is frustrating to know that so much of the public is unaware of this process. The common perception of a surgeon's flippant retreat to the golf course can be disconcerting. Dr. Karl gives the surgeon's enormous sense of responsibility and concern an eloquent voice--one to be enjoyed by readers on both sides of the "red line".
Rating: 
Summary: A Surgeon's Life
Review: Dr. Richard Karl developed his style by writing of his avocation, flying. It is a natural extension of his craft to write of his vocation, surgery. My generation of physicians were largely recruited to medicine by Dr. William Nolen in his books "The Making of a Surgeon" and "The Life of a Surgeon". Dr. Karl builds on that fine tradition with "Across the Red Line". Just as life has become more complicated since the 1960's, so has medicine. Dr. Karl reflects the complexity of the current environment while maintaining the the reverance of the doctor-patient relationship that Dr. Nolen so aptly described. Dr. Karl has served our professional and the public well with this passionate description of the surgeon's daily work.
Rating:
Summary: THE summer read!
Review: If you have not read Dr. Karl's book you are missing this summer's #1 read. His insightful, thought provoking writing style takes you inside the operating room and so much more. I was deeply moved by his experiences and his notable style of writing about them.
Rating:
Summary: A real inside look at the surgeon's life
Review: Richard Karl has done an admirable job of letting the reader into the rather rarified atmosphere of a surgeon's daily life. Also admirable is the compassion he feels for his patients and for the young doctors he teaches who are contemplating surgery as a career. With just the right amount of detail to give a good picture of complicated medical cases, the lay person can begin to understand the enormous responsibility a surgeon carries every day.
I am a high school librarian and I will buy this book for my high school library, as I believe many students, especially those aimed at medicine as a career, would definitely appreciate this very readable and enjoyable memoir.
Rating:
Summary: A real inside look at the surgeon's life
Review: Richard Karl has done an admirable job of letting the reader into the rather rarified atmosphere of a surgeon's daily life. Also admirable is the compassion he feels for his patients and for the young doctors he teaches who are contemplating surgery as a career. With just the right amount of detail to give a good picture of complicated medical cases, the lay person can begin to understand the enormous responsibility a surgeon carries every day.
I am a high school librarian and I will buy this book for my high school library, as I believe many students, especially those aimed at medicine as a career, would definitely appreciate this very readable and enjoyable memoir.
Rating:
Summary: Who should read Across the Red Line?
Review: Who should read Across the Red Line? First of all this is a book for medical students thinking about becoming a surgeon. with great economy of language it describes the emotional, physical and mental aspects of what it takes to perform surgery day after day, in both planned and unplanned circumstances. It offers the reader dramatic insight about the ups and downs of the profession. It is good reading for the patient facing surgery as well. It provides a strong dose of reality for anyone facing surgery or other intense medical care. In this area Dr. Karl provides particular insight. In two separate chapters he describes in vivid and emotional detail his two bouts with being hospitalized. In both cases for illness or injury inflicted in the line of duty. The first was a case of life threatening hepatitis. The second was a broken neck incurred in an effort to restrain a strong, young patient who became out of control in the emergency room. Dr. Karl's own experience clearly shaped his perspective and made him a much more compassionate physician. This book is good reading for other doctors who may need to see that it is possible to be passionate, caring and emotional thirty some years into a career. Finally this is a book for anyone interested in learning about what it is like to walk around in the shoes of a serious and thoughtful surgeon who details with life and death many times a day.
<< 1 >>
| 
