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A review by ptothelo
Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawande
3.0
In full disclosure I picked up this book because I've been watching Grey's Anatomy and am totally fascinated by what goes on in surgery and in an hospital. This book covers a range of topics, from practicing as a resident to decision-making to the physiology and psychology of pain. Apparently what happens to you once you enter a hospital can really be a crapshoot (he was able to diagnose someone with flesh-eating bacteria despite the absence of obvious symptoms bc he had come across a case not too long before).
It was all pretty interesting reading. The most interesting thing was that the % of decisions that are wrong decisions or misdiagnosis hasn't really changed since the advent of technology because while those instruments help doctors see better, it doesn't necessarily impart experience or remove blindspots when it comes to making decisions based on that data.
Another intersting thing he did with the flesh-eating bacteria case is to weigh the doctors' recommendation based on experience vs. what they "should" have recommended to the patient based on a decision tree.
It was all pretty interesting reading. The most interesting thing was that the % of decisions that are wrong decisions or misdiagnosis hasn't really changed since the advent of technology because while those instruments help doctors see better, it doesn't necessarily impart experience or remove blindspots when it comes to making decisions based on that data.
Another intersting thing he did with the flesh-eating bacteria case is to weigh the doctors' recommendation based on experience vs. what they "should" have recommended to the patient based on a decision tree.