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Summary: Recommended for Medical Students
Review: I am a second-year medical student, and was fortunate to be able to read "Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science", by Atul Gawande, for a class in medical school. Not only is the book enjoyable and engaging, it also provides a valuable perspective on the issues and "complications" facing medical students, residents, and doctors in the field of surgery and medicine in general. Misperceptions and myths are dispelled about the training, philosophy, and culture of medicine, and several important truths, particularly useful to medical students and those considering medicine as a career, are revealed. Gawande highlights the unique realities of fallibility, mystery, and uncertainty in medicine, and in so doing creates a respect for the complexity and privilege of a life and career in this field.
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Summary: A "Must Read" Written By A Harvard Surgeon
Review: If you have ever been a surgical patient, or expect you might become one in the future, I highly recommend that you read Dr. Atul Gawande's "Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science". If you are a medical student, I highly recommend that you read the book twice - once for you and then again for your patients.Gawande, as a seventh year Harvard surgical resident, offers reflective insight regarding his observations and experience as a surgeon. From failed attempts to insert a central line as a new resident, to his pride of attending his first medical conference with more senior house personnel, readers easily share in his frustrations, delights, and challenges. This book will encourage you to appreciate the ethical dilemmas surgeons face as they evaluate new procedures and self-police their own performance and that of their peers. Gawande reveals that even surgeons are mystified by the amazing human body and sometimes cannot explain how or why our bodies react the way they do to surgery. This book should not be mistaken for a gruesome account of risky surgical procedures performed late at night by sleepy-eyed residents. Gawande's descriptions of his patients and their surgical cases are detailed, but he provides them as intellectual case-in-points rather than the yellow journalism of blood and guts shown on TV and in the movies. This book will make you think...sometimes harder than you want to...it may even make you realize that surgery is not perfect and neither are even the best surgeons. A real page turner and a fast read. Don't cheat yourself by skipping over this one!
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Summary: Excellent
Review: This book was on my "suggested" reading list for my first year of medical school. I was dreading this list, so I started with this book first. I was extremely surprised to find this book easy to read, entertaining, and enlightening. I managed to read it in less than a day, and it left me with many impression on what to really expect when I undergo my training as a physician and beyond when I am really going to be expected to be a machine.
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Summary: Essay Collection from Surgeon, New Yorker author
Review: This book is basically a collection of essays Gawande has published in the New Yorker, where he is a staff writer, along with a few from Slate. His writing style is similar to that of Malcolm Gladwell, Jerome Groopman, and other New Yorker authors of the David Remnick era - intelligent and clear. Gawande is a surgical resident, so he is experienced enough to have insight into the medical profession and practices of surgeons, but still new enough in the field to bring a keen critical mind and the clarity of a relative outsider's perspective. Also, his compassion is one of his distinct qualities and shines through in the writing. If you are a regular New Yorker reader, you probably have already read all of these essays. The brilliant essay about why doctors make mistakes is included, as well as memorable essays about when good doctors go bad, and how the practice of autopsy goes in and out of fashion. The only one that was new to me was the one about a surgeons' convention, which was entertaining but not crucial reading. It is nice to have them all in once place, but unless you are a completist or a rabid Gawande fan, I'd recommend getting it from the library or waiting for the paperback.
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Summary: Not what I expected!
Review: This book, "Complications" was not at all what I expected. Having a love of anything medical-related, I was floored by the honesty and emotional offerings by Dr. Gawande. His ability to draw you in and explain this profession was incredible, in my opinion. I have a new-found appreciation for those who choose this profession. Dr. Gawande's candid expressions of reality in practice is something we all need to read about to better understand our medical caregivers.
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Summary: A must read for aging Boomers ...
Review: As an aging Boomer, 'Complications' provided me with a candid glimpse into the day to day realities of surgical medicine. This book revealed several rather significant misconceptions I previously held concerning surgeons and surgical practice and exposed them as myths using real-world examples and statistical evidence. My primary conclusion after reading this book is that caveat emptor (buyer beware) holds as true in the arena of surgical medicine as it does at the mall or supermarket. I would strongly encourage anyone who is considering undergoing a surgical procedure or who may be in the unenviable position of having to make a surgical decision on behalf of a loved one or relative to read this book in advance.
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Summary: More than I expected....
Review: This book is very well written. It grabs your attention very early and keeps it until the end. Whether you are in the medical field or not, this book gives you a great look at the complexities involved with the medicine that you don't think about everyday. Gawande presents these complexities with a nice mix of stories, narrative and information from other sources, giving the book a real sense of completeness.
As a reader, I found Gawande's discussion of simple everyday ailments such as nausea, vomiting, and pain to be excellent. He really dissects each topic and looks at them on several levels, giving the reader a new understanding and familiarity with what seemed such simple processes. I really enjoyed this book.
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Summary: Well written book
Review: Complications was a very well put together book. Gwande did an excellent job of presenting the uncertainty that is an everyday aspect of medicine. He did so in a way that can be understood by anyone who's ever experienced uncertainty in anything they've done. He presents it in a reassuring way to those who are not in the medical community, I'm sure anyone whose read this book will have a better understanding where their physician is coming from the next time the visit the doctor's office. For those who are in the medical community, it's nice to hear that others go through the same struggles and have come to terms with the fact that they might not always feel comfortable or know the "right answer". This was a very entertaining book, that really gets you thinking.
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Summary: Complications: What really goes on in the wards.
Review: Complications: A surgeon's notes on an imperfect science, is a must read for medical students, if not anyone in the medical field. It gives people a peek behind the curtain, letting them into a world that is virtually unknown to anyone but a physician. Dr. Gawande does a great job mixing narrative with facts which promotes easy reading and sparks debate among friends.
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Summary: The True State of Medicine
Review: Constantly advancing, modern medicine has afforded us an enormous increase in quality of life. Just in the field of surgery morbidly obese patients can have a surgery to assist them in dropping hundreds of pounds, doctors can perform robot-assisted surgeries on small anatomy, and there is a laundry list of other procedures that have become "routine." However, these advances have been accompanied unduly by a perception that the practice of medicine is invincible. We expect that doctors have the means to cure anything and everything, that they always know what is going on with a patient and that they are nothing less than perfect in their treatment efficiency.
In his book, Complications, surgeon Atul Gawande provides the reader with a series of cases that depict the practice of medicine for what it actually is: a fallible, mysterious and uncertain science. He brilliantly relates cases in which doctors falter, cases in which patients do not "conform" to a typical disease pattern and cases in which doctors just plain do not know what to do. Moreover, in a time when doctors are under more scrutiny than ever for their actions, Gawande provides the readers the necessary human side of medicine.
I highly recommend this book for anyone training for, or working in, the health care field. I would also argue that it is even more valuable for every health care consumer to become informed about the issues Gawande raises about the current state of medicine. Gawande has a very nice style of writing and his cases are explained nicely so that virtually anyone can understand the circumstances and his message.
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