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520 reviews for:
Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawande
Atul Gawande, Atul Gawande
4.21 AVERAGE
520 reviews for:
Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawande
Atul Gawande, Atul Gawande
4.21 AVERAGE
Very uneven. Some parts were truly compelling, and in others "um, exactly why are you writing about this?" I would bet he is a better surgeon than a writer.
I really enjoyed the author's straight-forward and honest approach to subjects like doctors making mistakes, who should make medical decisions for patients, autopsies, weight loss, when doctors are unfit to continue practicing and many others. I was fascinated by many of the stories and I think this is probably one of the most interesting books I've read.
Best for: People who enjoy good writing about medical issues. NOT for those who get squeamish reading about surgical procedures.
In a nutshell: Surgeon Atul Gawande (you probably know him from Being Mortal; I think my favorite of his is the Checklist Manifesto) shares stories about his time as a surgeon, exploring the reality that surgeons are humans and make mistakes.
Worth quoting:
“In the 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.”
Why I chose it: I can’t believe I haven’t read this yet - I thought I’d read all of his books. So when I sorted my Goodreads list for this CBR10 I was shocked to see it on there. I worried I’d start reading it and realize I’d read it before, but nope. It was new to me!
Review:
First off - CANNONBALL! My sixth since I started with CBR 5. Ah, how the time flies.
I enjoyed this book. I think it could have been better organized, but any time I get to read Dr. Gawande’s writing, I know I’m going to learn something and I’m going to enjoy reading it. He’s so talented, it seems unfair - a surgeon who can also write, and write well?
This book explores, through three distinct parts, the challenges of medicine that arise because humans are humans who need to learn and who make mistakes. The first section looks at learning and mistakes, the second at trying (and sometimes failing) to solve medical mysteries, and the third focuses on indecision.
The book starts off intensely, with Gawande sharing how he learned to put in a central line. It’s quite graphic, and does a great job of getting across the point that we all know somewhere in our mind (or every Thursday night when we watch Grey’s Anatomy): that doctors have to learn somehow. And usually that means performing on patients who are sick and injured. As patients, we want the best to treat us and our families, but the best only get there by practicing, which means that at some point we’re going to get the worst.
The second section, on medical mysterious, explores the frustration of healthcare professionals and patients when there is something wrong but we don’t know the cause and don’t know how to fix it. Like, for example, the woman who had nearly uncontrollable nausea for her ENTIRE PREGNANCY. Basically, what the Duchess of Cambridge had, but apparently it never stopped. I just … ack.
The final section is a reminder of the fact that sometimes, doctors just don’t know exactly what to do. The last chapter illustrates this amazingly well, with a woman who either has cellulitis or flesh-eating bacteria, and the doctors — and the patient — need to make a decision on the path forward. It looks at how much should doctors be directing care and how much should patients be? How do you find a compromise that respects the choice of the patient but also the knowledge and experience of the doctor?
Like I said, it’s an interesting book. It’s not a five-star read for me mostly because the chapters aren’t as well-connected as they could be. But it’s a strong four, because it’s Gawande.
In a nutshell: Surgeon Atul Gawande (you probably know him from Being Mortal; I think my favorite of his is the Checklist Manifesto) shares stories about his time as a surgeon, exploring the reality that surgeons are humans and make mistakes.
Worth quoting:
“In the 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.”
Why I chose it: I can’t believe I haven’t read this yet - I thought I’d read all of his books. So when I sorted my Goodreads list for this CBR10 I was shocked to see it on there. I worried I’d start reading it and realize I’d read it before, but nope. It was new to me!
Review:
First off - CANNONBALL! My sixth since I started with CBR 5. Ah, how the time flies.
I enjoyed this book. I think it could have been better organized, but any time I get to read Dr. Gawande’s writing, I know I’m going to learn something and I’m going to enjoy reading it. He’s so talented, it seems unfair - a surgeon who can also write, and write well?
This book explores, through three distinct parts, the challenges of medicine that arise because humans are humans who need to learn and who make mistakes. The first section looks at learning and mistakes, the second at trying (and sometimes failing) to solve medical mysteries, and the third focuses on indecision.
The book starts off intensely, with Gawande sharing how he learned to put in a central line. It’s quite graphic, and does a great job of getting across the point that we all know somewhere in our mind (or every Thursday night when we watch Grey’s Anatomy): that doctors have to learn somehow. And usually that means performing on patients who are sick and injured. As patients, we want the best to treat us and our families, but the best only get there by practicing, which means that at some point we’re going to get the worst.
The second section, on medical mysterious, explores the frustration of healthcare professionals and patients when there is something wrong but we don’t know the cause and don’t know how to fix it. Like, for example, the woman who had nearly uncontrollable nausea for her ENTIRE PREGNANCY. Basically, what the Duchess of Cambridge had, but apparently it never stopped. I just … ack.
The final section is a reminder of the fact that sometimes, doctors just don’t know exactly what to do. The last chapter illustrates this amazingly well, with a woman who either has cellulitis or flesh-eating bacteria, and the doctors — and the patient — need to make a decision on the path forward. It looks at how much should doctors be directing care and how much should patients be? How do you find a compromise that respects the choice of the patient but also the knowledge and experience of the doctor?
Like I said, it’s an interesting book. It’s not a five-star read for me mostly because the chapters aren’t as well-connected as they could be. But it’s a strong four, because it’s Gawande.
This book was fascinating. It's almost amazing how often doctors get it right.
As a health care professional, the topics covered in this book were plausible. I enjoyed learning about them from the physician's perspective. I wish there were more surgeons like the author who have compassion at the bedside without flaunting their surgical pride. Patient centricity is important.
emotional
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
I really like this genre, and loved Gawande’s more recent book Being Mortal. It’s unsettling to read about how deeply inexact the practice of medicine is.
through anecdotes and examples of patient cases, gawande seems to be honestly writing about fallibility - in medicine, in doctors, in patients. i don't know, so much, that the science is imperfect, but people are imperfect. i like that gawande is putting this information out for public consumption. his writing is fairly simple and accessible. as with [b:Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End|20696006|Being Mortal Medicine and What Matters in the End|Atul Gawande|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1408324949s/20696006.jpg|40015533], he touches on subjects that people either avoid discussing altogether, or are extremely uncomfortable talking about. but i do think there has been a shift in recent years from doctors being viewed as gods - therefore always right and never to be questioned/challenged - to patients being more involved in their own care. but there are still areas that could use improvement, and this is why i haven't rated the book 5-stars: i thought gawande would offer up ideas for how to advance the healthcare systems and doctor-patient relationships in better and more helpful ways. i also thought the book would offer a more cohesive hypothesis, with a conclusion that pulled everything together. thought that didn't happen, i did really enjoy each essay in the book, and found it all fascinating.
