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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Excellent. Even though this book was written a while ago (particularly noticeable during the chapter about Roux-en-Y bypass surgery), Gawande deftly ties the science of medicine to the art of medicine, all the while reminding medical professionals and laypeople alike about the role that fallibility, imperfection, and pure luck play in healthcare.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Really did read (to probably only my surprise) like “a surgeons notes”. This book is valuable for revealing what surgery and medicine really is at its core— human, and “imperfect”. While Gawande’s evaluations/explorations of his medical experiences weren’t particularly groundbreaking, hearing the stories alone is important and thought-provoking. If you’re not into reading many stories without a real concrete point, this isn’t for u.
“In medicine, we have long faced a conflict between the imperative to give patients the best possible care and the need to provide novices with experience.” 24
“Conversely, the ward services and clinics where residents have the most responsibility are populated by the poor, the uninsured, the drunk, and the demented.” 24
“Residents have few opportunities nowadays to operate independently, without the attending docs scrubbed in, but when we do— as we must before graduating and going out to operate on our own— it is generally on these, the humblest of patients.” 24
“There should be no learning curve as far as patient safety is concerned’. But that is entirely wishful thinking” 28
“Do we ever say the we need to agree to it? I’ve never seen it. Given the stakes, who in their right mind would agree to be practiced upon?” 30
“Learning must be stolen, taken as a kind of bodily eminent domain” 32
“If learning is necessary but causes harm, then above all it ought to apply to everyone alike” 32
“On the simplest level, nothing comes between patient and doctor like a mistake” 45
“If you’re not a little afraid when you operate… you’re bound to do a patient a great disservice” 61
“In one study of five hundred patients undergoing dental procedures, those who were given a placebo injection and reassured that it would relieve their pain had the least discomfort— not only less than the patients who got a placebo and were told nothing but also less than the patients who got a real anesthetic without any reassuring comment that it would work” 122
“And so a compassionate approach toward chronic pain means investigating its social coordinates, not just its physical ones” 129
“Of all the implications of the new theory of pain, this one seems to be the most far reaching; it has made pain political” 129
“Among the most provocative stimuli got space sickness in astronauts is simply seeing another astronaut float by upside down, which can produce a sudden, nauseating perception that you are the one who is upside down.” 135
“Palliative medicine’ is pursing a radical project: the scientific study of suffering. And what’s more striking is that they’re finding solutions where others have not.” 142
“The third possible cause of error the philosophers posited, however, was an insurmountable kind, one they termed, “necessary fallibility”” 198
“Doctors with high confidence in a judgement they made proved no more accurate than doctors with low confidence.” 238
“In medicine, we have long faced a conflict between the imperative to give patients the best possible care and the need to provide novices with experience.” 24
“Conversely, the ward services and clinics where residents have the most responsibility are populated by the poor, the uninsured, the drunk, and the demented.” 24
“Residents have few opportunities nowadays to operate independently, without the attending docs scrubbed in, but when we do— as we must before graduating and going out to operate on our own— it is generally on these, the humblest of patients.” 24
“There should be no learning curve as far as patient safety is concerned’. But that is entirely wishful thinking” 28
“Do we ever say the we need to agree to it? I’ve never seen it. Given the stakes, who in their right mind would agree to be practiced upon?” 30
“Learning must be stolen, taken as a kind of bodily eminent domain” 32
“If learning is necessary but causes harm, then above all it ought to apply to everyone alike” 32
“On the simplest level, nothing comes between patient and doctor like a mistake” 45
“If you’re not a little afraid when you operate… you’re bound to do a patient a great disservice” 61
“In one study of five hundred patients undergoing dental procedures, those who were given a placebo injection and reassured that it would relieve their pain had the least discomfort— not only less than the patients who got a placebo and were told nothing but also less than the patients who got a real anesthetic without any reassuring comment that it would work” 122
“And so a compassionate approach toward chronic pain means investigating its social coordinates, not just its physical ones” 129
“Of all the implications of the new theory of pain, this one seems to be the most far reaching; it has made pain political” 129
“Among the most provocative stimuli got space sickness in astronauts is simply seeing another astronaut float by upside down, which can produce a sudden, nauseating perception that you are the one who is upside down.” 135
“Palliative medicine’ is pursing a radical project: the scientific study of suffering. And what’s more striking is that they’re finding solutions where others have not.” 142
“The third possible cause of error the philosophers posited, however, was an insurmountable kind, one they termed, “necessary fallibility”” 198
“Doctors with high confidence in a judgement they made proved no more accurate than doctors with low confidence.” 238
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
informative
ridiculously fucking interesting, though i did find it hard to convince myself to keep reading and find motivation at points, however that’s probably just a me thing as this is i think the first non-fiction book i’ve ever actually completed
adventurous
emotional
informative
fast-paced
Audiobook. A really good read recounting stories! It was nice and long.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced