Reviews

Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance by Atul Gawande

mango123's review

4.0

Pretty interesting book on the problems in medicine/healthcare and how we can fix them. I liked the case studies and anecdotes Gawande discusses, and he is a good writer. Since it was written 10+ years ago, some of the information in the book is outdated, but that's to be expected.

lizaroo71's review

3.0

this is a collection of essays about various aspects of medicine. one chapter is devoted to the art of washing one's hands. this would stop several infectious diseases from spreading in hospitals. if only doctors and nurses would wash hands consistently. another chapter is about women and childbirth. it's interesting to know the history of various techniques and devices that are now the norm when it comes to childbirth. an interesting read.

kirbylm12's review against another edition

3.0

This was a thought provoking book. There are many things that the US does in the world of medicine that could be "better". I thought it was interesting to see him in India and how the surgeons there just "made it work" with little to nothing. In the US, that would be unheard of...you'd never have a surgery even scheduled unless there was an OR available with all the proper instruments and personnel. We put a lot of stock in to "doing the right thing in the right way" but, things still go wrong.
I much preferred the stories in his "complications" book to this one.

annie_explores's review against another edition

5.0

Excellent collection of essays; I also liked the use of organizing themes for the collection.

bthooper's review against another edition

3.0

This book provides a good introduction to some contemporary concerns in modern health care. It is accessible without being condescending which I always appreciate. The essays are largely anecdotal though and I wanted to hear more of Gawande's thoughts and opinions. The book is clearly intended for a popular audience and at times i wanted the author to go deeper.

heidi_lou_who's review

5.0

As fascinating as the first, and more uplifting. I am sending this one to my brother (an orthopaedic surgeon) b/c I think it contains tons of information that is applicable for those in the health care industry. A great book to read if you're a Dr. who's burnt out w/ the long hrs. and taxing work.

pattydsf's review

4.0

Gawande is an excellent author. I am not terribly interested in medicine, but when I heard Gawande had written a second book, this one, I knew it had to go on my to-read list. Really good.

Much of medical writing bothers me if it is too graphic. Gawande is not graphic and he gives me the opportunity to think about things that I would never encounter in my life.

ashianajivraj's review

4.0

This book pushes medical professionals to ask how they can do better. I enjoyed the story telling and the narrative. While the narrative wasn't as engrossing as Being Mortal, Gawande manages to take the patient cases and push people, regardless of field to ask, what are the gaps in my performance and how can i innovate - while staying true to his surgeon's lens.

heyhaveyouread's review against another edition

3.0

I didn't love this book on first reading, but on re-reading it, I approached it as it is written, separate essays with a themes, and found it thoughtful and asking interesting questions. The afterword is good advice for junior and senior doctors alike.

rbogue's review against another edition

I’m sometimes a hard guy to impress. Sometimes, I strive for excellence and look for ways to get better, and I forget to appreciate that good is good enough. Maybe that is why I appreciated Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance so much. It certainly doesn’t hurt that I’d previously read and reviewed Atul Gawande’s Checklist Manifesto and Being Mortal. However, in the end, I think what I recognize in Gawande is that passion for making things better, because better is possible.

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