Reviews of what you should be reading next.

Category: Non Fiction (Page 9 of 10)

The Nurses by Alexandra Robbins

 

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In this lively, fast-paced narrative, New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Robbins digs deep into the subculture of nursing, drawing readers into a brilliantly captivating in-depth investigation of the extraordinary working lives of nurses and the shocking behind-the-scenes secrets that all patients and their loved ones need to know.

The Nurses is told through the real-life stories of four women in different hospitals: Molly, funny, well-loved, and confident enough to quit a longtime job after her hospital ramps up its anti-nurse policies. Lara, a superstar nurse who tries to battle her way back from a near-ruinous prescription-drug addiction. The outspoken but compassionate Juliette, a fierce advocate for her patients. And Sam, a first-year nurse, struggling to find her way in a gossipy mean-girl climate she likens to “high school, except for the dying people.”

Readers will root for these bedside heroes, who operate in a world filled with joy and violence, miracles and heartbreak, dark humor and gripping drama. It’s a world of hazing—“nurses eat their young.” Sex—not exactly like on TV, but more prevalent than many imagine. Drug abuse—disproportionately a problem among the best and the brightest. There are true-life archetypes—the handsome, suave doctor, the patient brought back from death, the hunky male nurse. And bullying—by peers, by patients, by hospital bureaucrats, and especially by doctors, an epidemic described as lurking in the “shadowy, dark corners of our profession.”

The result is a riveting page-turner, insightful and thought-provoking, that will leave readers feeling smarter about their healthcare and undeniably appreciative of the incredible nurses who provide it.

Thanks to Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Alexandra Robbins is familiar with bringing the reader into a closed society; she is the author of [easyazon_link identifier=”0786888598″ locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”gimmethatbook-20″]Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities[/easyazon_link]. Her research is exhaustive, thorough and massive. For THE NURSES, she has interviewed hundreds of nursing professionals, active and retired, along with intensive reading of healthcare related books.

The plot is exactly as described–we are following the stories of four nurses as they navigate their way through their workdays at different hospitals. The workplaces are vastly different; one is in a low income area and very dangerous, another is in a better area but understaffed, yet another employs a staff that is closeminded and cliquey.  Each chapter covers a different subject, such as interpersonal difficulties, healthcare in general, the physical danger to nurses, availability of loose drugs and therefore the potential to become hooked, and the doctor’s and healthcare industry’s attitude towards nurses in general.

As I read, I simply could not believe what I was seeing. My perception of nursing changed 180 degrees as I made my way through the book. Discard your vision of a glamorous, overpaid, angel in white. Be prepared to hear about nurses getting fired for following doctor’s orders, drunk patients wreaking havoc and causing serious permanent injury, staff surfing the Internet and being “too busy” to give aid to their coworkers, and the overwhelming, constant burden of having too many patients under your care.

The more I read, the less I want to be anywhere near a hospital.

Gore and lengthy descriptions of medical procedures are not a part of this book. Rather, there are recountings of conversations, incidents, and situations that these nurses found themselves dealing with on a daily basis.  The book is detailed and can be a bit long winded, just a bit, especially with some of the statistics that seem to go on for a while, but they are relevant and serve to educate the reader.

I’m interested to see what the nursing community has to say about this book–will there be an outpouring of agreement, or is Robbins sensationalizing the truth? Either way, THE NURSES is well written and thrusts you into a world most of us don’t normally see. Most of us probably aren’t even aware that this shady underbelly of medicine exists. Kudos to Robbins for bringing it to the forefront.

Want your own copy? You can pick it up [easyazon_link identifier=”0761171711″ locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”gimmethatbook-20″]here[/easyazon_link].

 

 

 

Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts – Review

Napoleon book cover

The Blurb on the Jacket:

Andrew Roberts’s Napoleon is the first one-volume biography to take advantage of the recent publication of Napoleon’s thirty-three thousand letters, which radically transform our understanding of his character and motivation. At last we see him as he was: protean multitasker, decisive, surprisingly willing to forgive his enemies and his errant wife Josephine. Like Churchill, he understood the strategic importance of telling his own story, and his memoirs, dictated from exile on St. Helena, became the single bestselling book of the nineteenth century.

 

Before encountering this book, I had not read any other biography of Napoleon. I had exposed myself to plenty of modern European history, and I felt like I know the “gist” of Napoleon’s life, but I hadn’t ever delved deeply into the man himself. When I approached this massive tome, I worried that my less-that-rigorous foreknowledge might render Napoleon, if not inaccessible, at least a chore.

This was not the case.

Rarely have I ever had the pleasure of reading a portrait of an important man or woman that was simultaneously as immersive and as insightful as Roberts’ Napoleon. Biographers who struggle to find a balance between giving their subjects personality and keeping their writing educationally valuable should take note. It often seems that this balance is a zero-sum game. Any account vastly endowed with one put pay for its endowment with the other. Roberts cheats this system by letting his primary sources stand front-and-center. Napoleon (the man, not the book) had enough moxie and humor of his own to buoy the tone of this book from dust jacket to dust jacket.

That sounds like I’m giving the credit to Monsieur Bonaparte rather than the author, doesn’t it? This is not my intention. All of the credit belongs to Mr. Roberts for pulling off this feat. Napoleon’s original words could not have filled this book. If they could, he wouldn’t have had time to govern. The majority of the mass of this massive pack of pulp owes its existence to Roberts’ careful work of contextualization. The author takes extraordinary care to include the reader in a conversation about the external factors weighing in on the scenarios he describes.

My most common frustration when reading a biography is it is not entirely clear why some important action X was taken rather than Y. Usually, a simple explanation would do. No such frustration could find a stable home in my consciousness while I read this book. Simple explanations regularly precede the description of the actions taken here, and these descriptions are regularly followed by exhaustive investigations into the minutia revolving the decisions made. It is not boring at all. It sucks you in. It makes you feel like you can appreciate the situations as acutely as the people involved. If you read biographies because you want to better understand people and the times you choose to read about, then this sense that you might as well have been there should be exactly what you’re searching for. If not, then stop searching for whatever you’re searching for, and pick up this book. If I didn’t make that clear enough, let me make this very clear.

If you think that it is within the realm of possibility that the life and times of Napoleon Bonaparte could appeal to you as subject matter, then you need to get a copy of Andrew Robert’s book into your possession, and swallow it like a python swallows an alligator. Unhinge your brain’s jaw and shove this hunk of gold down its distended gullet before you consider taking care of less important matters… like hygiene… and nutrition.

Internal Medicine by Terrence Holt

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A collection of essays about life as a surgical intern.

Terrence Holt, whose In the Valley of the Kings was hailed as a “work of genius” (New York Times) and made Amazon’s Top Ten Short Story Collections of the year, brings a writer’s eye and a doctor’s touch to this powerful account of residency.

Intense, ironic, heartfelt, and heartbreaking, these nine vivid stories put us at the bedside of a patient dying in a house full of cursing parrots, through a nightmarish struggle to convince a man that he has cancer, at a life-and-death effort to keep an oxygen mask on a claustrophobic patient, and in the lounge of a snowbound hospital where doctors swap yarns through the night.

Out of these “dioramas from the Museum of Human Misery”, Holt draws meaning, beauty, wonder, and truth. Personal, poignant, and meticulously precise, these stories evoke Chekhov, Maugham, and William Carlos Williams, admitting readers to the beating heart of medicine. Internal Medicine is an account of what it means to be a doctor, to be mortal, and to be human.

This book was on my “to-read” list, so I picked it up from the library. Attempts to reach the author for a review/giveaway copy were unsuccessful.

It only took a few pages for INTERNAL MEDICINE to become a great read. Told in the voice of a doctor, explaining how he handled difficult cases during his internship, this book is alternately chilling and poignant. The take away message is this: doctors have self doubt and fatigue just like everyone else, despite the brave front they put on.

Each chapter told the story of one patient, and how Holt learned from their situation. One lesson was patience, one was bravery, one was teamwork, and so on. Brilliant details and situations that everyone can identify with are what makes this such a moving and important read.

As I read about the woman whose oxygen saturation was dipping into the 80’s, yet she kept ripping her O2 mask off due to claustrophobia, I ferverently hoped I would never be ill and lingering in the hospital. The intimate details of how the human body betrays us all is what will stay with you, long after the book is finished. Holt’s writing style is easy to follow, and full of honesty.

Each chapter can be read as a stand alone, and I recommend that–for you will need time to digest the life lessons revealed with each patient’s final outcome. Holt does not hide his fear, his disgust, his anger, and his weariness. He exposes himself –  and the entire medical profession – with stories that cannot help but touch your soul. What makes this book so wonderful is that the stories take place during his internship, where each moment is a learning experience and a doctor’s intuition is “make or break”.  The spin on each chapter would be totally different if it was written under the guise of a man who was completely comfortable with his medical knowledge, with his ability to heal and comfort. Instead, there are questions and internal monologues, which make the doctor not larger than life, but truly human and with foibles.

The book can be graphic at times, so beware. Seasoned readers of the medical genre will enjoy it, as there are some things that I haven’t read about previously. The scenes and maladies are diverse, and there is a chilling story from a mental hospital thrown in for good measure. The only chapter I had a problem with was the last one: a seemingly out of place fable (told  on a regular basis by doctors) about an incident that may or may not have taken place in real life–a rambling and unsatisfying tale told (in this case) by an older doctor in an on call room where others are trying to get some rest.  I’m not sure why the author chose to end with this story, as it took the life out of the other eight chapters that went before.  Other than that, I have nothing but praise for INTERNAL MEDICINE. This should be on the must read shelf for all those about to enter the medical profession.

Want your own copy? You can pick it up [easyazon_link asin=”0871408759″ locale=”US” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”gimmethatbook-20″ add_to_cart=”yes” cloaking=”default” localization=”yes” popups=”yes”]here[/easyazon_link].

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canine and Feline Behavior for Veterinary Technicians and Nurses by Julie Shaw and Debbie Martin

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Thanks to Wiley-Blackwell for offering me this textbook in exchange for an honest review.

This comprehensive textbook contains nine chapters and three appendices, and is geared towards the veterinary technician, rather than the veterinarian. Oftentimes, it’s the technician that assesses the patient before the doctor enters the room and can be indispensable in offering guidance and advice to weary pet owners. The chapters read as follows:

  • The role of the veterinary technician in animal behavior
  • canine behavior and development
  • feline behavior and development
  • the human-animal bond
  • communication and connecting the animal behavior team
  • learning and behavior modification
  • problem prevention
  • specific behavior modification techniques and practical application for behavior disorders
  • introductory neurophysiology and psychopharmacology

As you can see, there is a chapter for everything, with the final one discussing medications as a last resort. The chapters can be read progressively or referred to here and there to educate a client on a particular issue. The focus here is to understand the patient and correct unpleasant habits in a way that the pet will accept, without cruelty or harsh discipline. The book advises that shock collars or physical punishment is not akin to learning, and so is not the best method to use.

Also extremely helpful is the chapter about communication and connecting the behavior team. Occasionally there will be that animal that will not resolve its behavior, no matter how hard the owner tries. If euthanasia is being considered, there will be many different ways the owner may react, and the book goes through the stages of grief and how to help the owner through this challenging time.

The book is accompanied by many color photos, graphs, tables, and diagrams illustrating the text and adding another level of understanding. Here is an example of a schematic that gives a great deal of information at a glance:

behvior book pic

Flowcharts are typically easy to read, and this one also has notes at the bottom that correlate with the numbers in the red circles. Both beginning and experienced behavior techs will appreciate what this book has to offer–and their patients will too!

The appendices (found after chapter 9) are broken down into Forms and Questionnaires, Training Exercises, and Samples and Letters.  There is also a companion website that offers handouts, review questions, and additional images.

There is a lot packed into this text, and technicians will be better able to assist the veterinarian after becoming familiar with the material covered. Even if the technician is not part of the full-time behavioral staff, they will be able to educate the client thoroughly and become more adept at handling patients. Wiley has created another indispensable book for the veterinary technician! You can pick up your copy here.

Starvation Heights by Gregg Olsen

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In 1911 two wealthy but hypochondriacal sisters found a sanitorium that promoted a special “fasting” cure for whatever ails you.  They were so eager to check in and become patients, but didn’t know that Dr Linda Hazzard would try to kill them, not by fasting, but by placing them on a starvation diet that would weaken and terrify them. This is their story, including the famous court case against Dr Hazzard.

Claire and Dora Williamson thought that the revolutionary “fasting” cure would help their vague maladies: female trouble, headaches, malaise. A plan was concocted to get in touch with Dr Hazzard and gain admittance to her sanitorium. The sisters told no one of their journey, and thus no one missed them, as they were always traveling here and there.  The sisters were separated once the fast started in earnest, and could only hear each other. As they grew weaker, dizzy and exhausted, each one thought the other one was getting stronger. Finally Claire slipped away, her jewelry and money appropriated by Dr Hazzard and her husband Sam. Dora was told that she was becoming insane, and it was her sister Claire’s wishes that she stay on at the sanitorium until her death. Purely by accident the sister’s former nanny tracked Dora down, and spirited the emaciated woman away. Part Two of the story tells the story of how the British Vice Consul championed the Williamson’s plight and attempted  to take legal action against Dr Hazzard and Starvation Heights.

 

This is a true story, told with chilling detail  due to author Gregg Olsen‘s thorough research. Washington State provided archival materials to the author, such as Claire Williamson’s death certificate, the court ruling, interviews with former residents and photographs of the town of Olalla at the time of the incident. Dr Hazzard’s place was notorious amongst the residents, but they were an insular group and no one thought to say anything against the Hazzards. This was why so many people had died  (at least 40) at Linda Hazzard’s hands.

Linda Burfield Hazzard was a strong willed woman, a feminist who railed against the Old School of male doctors. In fact, she was never given a real medical license, a fact that was made much of in court. She felt the medical establishment was against her, and only wanted to provide an alternative method for healing.

On the one hand, she did prove herself as a maverick, but on the other hand she took things too far and was greedy. Healing by starvation was not her intent–or was it? Olsen paints a picture of her as just a little off, controlling and single minded. I was not sympathetic to her character at all, and felt as if she set the female gender back many years with her antics. Being an advocate of natural healing does not mean starving someone against their will in the name of medicine.

Olsen’s writing is detailed and colorful, giving equal time to both good and bad guys. Back story on both Linda and Sam Hazzard is given, albeit towards the latter part of the book, but it does explain a lot about both of their psyches. The court proceedings do not consume too much, which I liked, but the parts about the Consul trying to enlist help from the British and neighboring cities became a bit dry.

All in all, this was a good read. Fans of true crime will enjoy this, and marvel at the facts that permitted such injustice to proceed unchecked for so long. Author Olsen is well versed in the true crime genre, and provides fact and sensation equally. Want your own copy? You can pick it up [easyazon_link asin=”1400097460″ locale=”US” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”gimmethatbook-20″ add_to_cart=”yes” cloaking=”default” localization=”yes” popups=”yes”]here[/easyazon_link].

 

 

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty

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Many thanks to the author, Caitlin Doughty, for gifting me this book in exchange for this honest review.

When I first learned this was published I knew I had to read it. As an almost-mortician (I was accepted into American Academy McAllister Institute of Funeral Service many years ago but never went) I really wanted to hear what Ms Doughty was going to say. Her writing is wry and emotional, and it’s easy for the reader to understand her quest to find out why death means so much to her.

The story starts out as she finds a job at a crematorium, then goes off to mortuary school in hopes of learning all she can about the funeral industry. Her motives are such that she wants to oppose the general business/embalming aspect of funerals and death; she believes in a “green” disposal, which may mean anything from cremation to being buried in the earth in a biodegradable container. Doughty feels that our attitude towards death is that of an ostrich in the sand; we prefer not to acknowledge it or prepare for it.  This, she feels, is wrong. If you are able to come to terms with your eventual passing you will not have any fear, and it’s a healthier way of living.

The author illustrates this way of thinking in each of her anecdotes. Beware–this book is not for the faint of heart, as there is a good deal of description of dead bodies, what happens when you get cremated, and some near death experiences of Doughty’s. However, that does not overshadow the main thrust of the story; we can feel Doughty’s mistrust and discomfort at the funeral industry, and are able to learn why she thinks that way.

An incident that happened at a shopping mall when the author was younger sets the background for so much discussion of mortality: she watched and heard a young girl fall to her death from the second floor of a mall, and that stayed with her for many years. She developed tics and habits, to “ward off” death coming for her, and then realized that she could come to terms with it, as we all should. She feels that Americans especially are in denial about death, whereas in other parts of the world people are more comfortable;  she illustrates this by including snippets of information on death and funerary customs around the globe, which I found interesting and enlightening.

Thinking about the end of your own life may seem depressing to you, but it is important that you get your affairs in order and not be afraid. It’s a lot easier said than done, but Doughty pleads her case well. She exudes a feeling of caring and encouragement, and hammers the point home that this is the one thing that brings us all together, no matter what race, color. creed or species you are.

I enjoyed the mix of humor and pathos in her writing, and would love to see something else in this vein. Doughty can be found at the Order of the Good Death online, and also has her own YouTube channel, known as “Ask A Mortician”. She is exactly what the funeral industry needs: an honest voice that demonstrates caring and empathy. I’d be honored to let Ms. Doughty handle my end of life care–would you? Read this book and let me know what you think. You can pick up your own copy [easyazon_link asin=”0393240231″ locale=”US” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”gimmethatbook-20″ add_to_cart=”yes” cloaking=”default” localization=”yes” popups=”yes”]here.[/easyazon_link]

 

Biography Review: Russell Long by Michael Martin.

The Short Version

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Russell Long: A Life in Politics starts off even before he was born to one of the most powerful American politicians outside the Capital, Huey Long. We come to know Russell as a man who seems to have ideals: whichever ones suit his purpose. We meet a chameleon who grows more conspicuous and powerful . He skillfully harnessed his father’s controversial legacy to shape his own. Many biographies are stories of rags-to-riches. This one shows us political royalty begetting political royalty. Like father like son.

Cinderella stories and train wrecks are interesting, sure. But at the heights of national politics, all things ordinary are extraordinary. You just need to be close enough to see what’s actually going on. Michael Martin points his microscope at characters who can raise up or ruin thousands of lives with a phone call. More than just a biography, Russell Long is a life-size portrait of some of the invisible forces that shaped American civil rights and economic intervention policy from the 1920s through the 1980s. I had mixed feelings about how Mr. Martin treated some topics, but overall this book was a joy to read, and particularly transformative for my personal understanding of Congressional politics in the middle of the last century.

You in a hurry? Take your coat off, why don’tcha? Keep reading!

 

My Full Review:

Excellence in the Biographical Craft

I read a lot of really dry books. I like’em that way. I’m all about the information density. Crank it up to 11! Don’t get me wrong. I love good narration and storytelling, but I’ve left mountains of biographies more relatable than Russell Long unfinished. Why did I finish Russell Long, but not the others?

As long as a biography helps me understand the place and importance of the person in the title, I’m happy. There are plenty of ways to do this. Some authors use personal accounts of people who knew the title character to construct a story. These biographies usually have a very personal touch. Their success or failure depends on how easy it is for the reader to get to know the person they’re reading about. Russell Long doesn’t even try to do this, so I won’t judge it on this basis.

This book wants to teach you about Russell, not introduce you to him. Enjoyment doesn’t issue from its style or wit, but from its combination of clarity and insight. Every page is pressurized to the bursting point with information. Russell Long is such a dense piece of pulp that the absence of any one sentence would immediately stand out to most mildly-attentive readers. Even being as dense as it is, however, it’s still easily accessible. Usually, accessibility correlates well with the complexity or depth of the content. I believe Mr. Martin created this outlier by focusing on a narrative structure before thinking in terms of timelines, events, and explanations.

Russell Long’s overall structure is evidence that Mr. Martin took spectacular care to produce an account that covers a wide canvas without becoming obtuse. The lesson other biographers can learn here is that contextual information is not a commodity. What does that mean?

In the Land of the Confusing, Context is King

Some contextual information pairs best with its related content when nestled in with a tangentially related account. We learn of Earl Long’s ultimate fate early, to lose his marbles while in the Senate in 1960. Seemingly a non-sequitur at first, this knowledge casts its foreshadow over Earl’s actions leading up to that year. At no time does Mr. Martin suggest any relationship between Earl’s escalating political aggressiveness and his meltdown. Even so, I would expect any reader to make his or her own judgment about the cause for his behavior, and whether his actions or his meltdown were the chicken or the egg. Regardless of the determination you make, the very fact that I was involved so deeply for so long leading up to the reveal is thanks to a masterful measuring of just the right amount of suggestion early on and an otherwise-innocuous lead-up to the event in question. You could argue that leaving the cause for his meltdown for the reader to intuit is unsatisfying, but remember, this book is interested in the facts. Guessing and wondering is the reader’s half of the contract here. Besides, have you ever called a book that left your brain chewing on its contents long afterward a “bad book”?

Russell Long is loaded with foreshadowing that seems like fact-stating at first blush, but produces satisfying “Aha!” moments throughout the proceeding text. Much of this foreshadowing occurs in the meaty first chapter entirely devoted to the life and career of Huey Long, Russell’s father. Mr. Martin depicts him as a powerful and ruthless Louisiana governor and political boss. Huey was a New Deal-era populist, and early on we come to know Russell as a Truman/Kennedy/LBJ Fair-Deal-era/Great Society-era populist. The account of Russell’s time striving toward and later working within the U.S. Senate during this period stands tall on its own, but it benefits tremendously from the foreshadowing earlier on.

As for sections of the book that trace the cause of a significant even to its effect, Mr. Martin provides context in step with the content. He seldom leaves the reader wondering what motives the actors might have had. Often, when an author does not give particular consideration to the distribution of contextual knowledge, the reader is burdened with wondering if he or she missed something until the author gets around to providing helpful context. The combination of foreshadowing and unconstructive inline explanation makes Russell Long a relatively effortless read.

Small Book, Big Ambition: The Compromise Shows.

In spite of all of the great things that I have to say about this biography, I do have complaints. Mr. Martin’s application of foreshadowing sometimes seems to guide the book’s focus away from very important details in favor of events that mesh well with the scaffold of foreshadowing upon which the biography seems to be built. Mr. Martin glosses over, and sometimes neglects even to account for, very important transitions in Russell Long’s political career. I found the explanation of the machinations by which Russell became Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, for example, to be unsatisfying. In sections describing the use of connections by either Long to usurp the function of government agencies, some more detail regarding how these connections were formed and maintained would have been beneficial.

Am I nitpicking? You may not even think twice about the informational gaps if you give this mainly solid book a read. I’m probably asking too much from a book in the range of 300 pages. If an editor demanded that I tamp down the word count, I might have nixed these details, too. Regardless, fleshing out these details in a longer book would have been well worth the longer read. In the end, every book must stand on it’s own two… covers. Russell Long certainly suffers from several unsatisfactory, unsatisfying, and sometimes missing explanations of what I though should have been key elements of a complete narrative.

The Last Word

To get hung up on any of these qualms would be to miss out on appreciating this book’s most important feature. Before Michael Martin’s Russell Long became available, there had been no quality account of Russell Long’s place in American history accessible to the layperson. The alternative for the average person seeking to learn about the younger Long would be a greatly fruitless Google search. Even Wikipedia, with it hordes of fanatical volunteer editors, hosts relatively little quality, cross-referenced information about this troubled, controversial, and interesting man. The publication of this book fills a conspicuous void, and there’s nothing but good in that.

The information density of Russell Long is actually dumbfounding. That Mr. Martin was able to make such a dense work so easy to read is a testament to his mastery of the biographical form. I swallowed about 300 pages of pure knowledge in hardly more than four hours. (If I’m being honest, the speed was just as much thanks to the “Spritz” reading software I use as to Mr. Martin, but I digress.) If all non-fiction books were like Russell Long, we would all be far more knowledgeable. People would read more books. People would patronize their libraries and coffee shops with equal frequency. Heck. The coffee shops would probably just be in the libraries.

 

Doctored by Sandeep Jauhar

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This was another book I picked up at the library for myself, and I was excited to see the author of [easyazon_link asin=”0374531595″ locale=”US” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”gimmethatbook-20″ add_to_cart=”yes” cloaking=”default” localization=”yes” popups=”default”]Intern: A Doctor’s Initiation[/easyazon_link] had written another book. This one is of a bit darker tone, as he talks about his struggle to keep focused and happy saving lives and battling insurance companies. The main focus of this book is money and cronyism: how much it costs for medical care, how much the doctors are getting paid, ways to circumvent insurance companies’ unwillingness to pay, and quid pro quo buddy systems where referrals are the goal.

Once again, as in other books written by doctors, this was pretty depressing. On page 11 Jauhar talks about how doctors are disillusioned:

In 2001, 58% of about 2000 physicians questioned said their enthusiasm for medicine had gone down in the previous five years, and 87% said their overall morale had declined during that time. More recent surveys  have shown that 30 to 40% of practicing physicians would not choose to enter the medical profession if they were deciding on a career again, and an even higher percentage would not encourage their children to pursue a medical career.

There are many reasons for this disillusionment besides managed care. An unintended consequence of progress is that physicians increasingly say they have inadequate time to spend with patients. Medical advances have transformed once terminal diseases – cancer, AIDS, congestive heart failure – into complex chronic conditions that must be managed long term.

So.  We have people living longer, restrictions placed on doctors by HMOs, pressure to make ends meet at home,  and doctors being forced to produce referrals in order to maintain the old boy network. That could definitely make anyone disillusioned. What’s scary about this situation is that people’s lives are at stake here. All anyone wants is to be able to trust their physician, that he will do no harm.

Jauhar tells his story, warts and all: he is frustrated at not being able to practice his own medicine, without having to network. His marriage is straining due to lack of money. He seems to be suffering from depression that is untreated. Personally, I would not want to be in the hands of a doctor that was being pressured on so many fronts. But Jauhar perserveres, tries to practice good medicine, and attempts to play the game. He marvels at the circumstance of a man, admitted to the hospital because of shortness of breath. During his 30 day, $200,000 stay, he was seen by SEVENTEEN doctors and underwent TWELVE procedures. He was discharged with only “minimal improvement in his shortness of breath” and “follow ups…with SEVEN specialists“.

As the book proceeds further, Jauhar discusses taking away the financial incentive to over test patients, and make suggestions on how to fix our beleagured healthcare system. His arguments are sound, and probably could only happen in a perfect world. I urge you to read this book, only if it will help arm you against unscrupulous surgeons and the overreach of the billing department.

The only problem I have with the book is that I wasn’t sure if Jauhar wanted to make it a story about him, or a general story about our healthcare. He will start off a chapter with a patient’s story, then end up talking about how it affected him and how frustrated he was,  then insert a dialogue he had with his young son. Then the next chapter will start off with personal thoughts and stories about how he was mentally checked out of his marriage, and suddenly mention a patient. There was also a  long part about him trying to moonlight, but not billing enough, not seeing enough patients, and not playing the game–but instead of trying to fix things, he seems to go into a vapor lock (that could be the depression) and let things just swirl around him and get worse.  He seemed to be very wishy washy here, and let his brother and father galvanize him into action by calling in favors and getting him money making opportunities. Nothing he did made him happy, and that whole middle section of the book was very depressing and drawn out. Eventually things get better at home for the author…..but our healthcare system stays broken.

This was a very illuminating read, and a good follow up to INTERN– we see how Jauhar grows as a doctor and becomes more self aware.  DOCTORED is a great book for anyone who thinks all doctors are millionaires. Want your own copy? You can pick it up [easyazon_link asin=”0374141398″ locale=”US” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”gimmethatbook-20″ add_to_cart=”yes” cloaking=”default” localization=”yes” popups=”yes”]here.[/easyazon_link]

Screen Shot 2014-12-13 at 12.27.15 PMHello everyone. My name is Michael Nail (on the right). I’m the webmaster here at Gimmethatbook. I make sure the website looks nice, runs quickly, and doesn’t blow up. I also run the giveaways, which means that I have the honor and exquisite pleasure of announcing the winner of the Judy Melinek book giveaway:

Congratulations @enterprise314! Your copy of [easyazon_link asin=”1476727252″ locale=”US” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”gimmethatbook-20″ add_to_cart=”default” cloaking=”default” localization=”default” popups=”yes”]Working Stiff[/easyazon_link] by Judy Melinek will arrive as quickly as our beloved United States Postal Office’s fastest rickshaw can reach you. Be kind, and give the poor fellow a drink of water when he gets to you.

As for all you unfortunate souls who didn’t win, don’t fret. At Gimmethatbook, there will always be another giveaway, another book, and another chance. As for those who didn’t enter, tsk-tsk. For shame. Enter next time!

Handbook of Canine and Feline Emergency Protocols by Maureen McMichael

I received this textbook from publisher Wiley-Blackwell in exchange for this honest review,

When an emergency presents to your small animal clinic, there isn’t time to find a textbook and search through the index for help. This second edition is designed to assist veterinary personnel find answers fast.

Highlights:

  • 19 chapters spotlighting different emergencies by type
  • Chapters are in alphabetical order with thumb tabs
  • Spiral bound for easy handling
  • Over 165 cases detailed
  • Cases are outlined by history, clinical signs, diagnostics, treatment, and prognosis
  • At the end of each chapter there are references for further reading
  • Images accompany some cases for clearer understanding (update to Second Edition)
  • Companion website at www.wiley.com/go/mcmichaelhandbook that gives you access to calculations, review questions, video clips and more

This text is easy to understand and will help you triage and support animals in an emergency.  There is even a chapter on Procedures and Protocols that walks you through uncommon (for single doctor small animal practice) tasks such as blood crossmatching, thoracotomy tube placement, CSF collection and lipid infusion.  Each procedure is laid out with sections for indications, equipment, procedure steps, technique, complications, and contraindications. Some textbooks have an overabundance of information, causing overload at a critical time. For those who need a quick refresher to jog the memory that has been buried since vet school, this book is perfectly created.

I especially enjoyed the review questions on the website. You can test your knowledge in quick bites and get your answers right away, with an explanation. This book will be a terrific addition to any clinic library and will be referred to repeatedly in times of emergency.

Want your own copy? You can pick it up here.

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