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After sitting on my bookshelf for 20 years, this book made it into rotation a year ago. I had enjoyed several of his previous books, The Physician, Shaman, and Rabbi in the past and finally looked forward to this book. It did not disappoint me. It was written in 1969, 4 years before I entered residency in a community hospital. It is about 2 chief surgical residents, the dying chief of the surgery department, and a 1st year resident in surgery. The story tells of a time when residents were first starting to earn any salary but were still dissuaded from marrying, and could still live in the hospital to save money. Kidney transplantation was just getting started, and nearly all deaths came to post mortem exam and eventually to the weekly mortality conferences where the cases were discussed and where any avoidable errors were picked apart and used to teach the residents to help prevent subsequent deaths. The medicine was well researched and accurate. The stories were not melodramatic and the characters were accurately drawn. No villains, no heroes, just doctors trying to do their best for the patients.
Very well written. An old gem.
Very well written. An old gem.
