Books can have a profound impact on learning and
your knowledge and even, the kind of interests one
will harbour in his/her medical career.
butions. We owe a lot to stalwarts
like them for the greater ease of
the present day and the presence of
clarity in various respects. William
Halstedt (famous for Halstedt’s rad-
ical mastectomy) was a perfectionist
cocaine addict! Personal details of
these famous people not only makes
it easier to remember these names
and also, it doesn’t become a bore!
54
In recent times, I chanced upon
another brilliant surgeon and writ-
er, Dr. Atul Gawande. His series of
books – ‘Checklist Manifesto’ (an
international best-seller), ‘Com-
plications’ (my personal favourite),
‘Being Mortal’ and ‘Better’. I con-
sider each of these books (“Checklist
manifesto” is yet to be read) nothing
less than a masterpiece. ‘Complica-
tions’ deals with the mistakes of a
young surgeon, Gawande himself.
His hardships as a young resident
are easy to relate to and thus very
likeable. If there is one broad idea
that the book tries to change/ bring
to your attention is the fact that
doctors make mistakes and they
should accept it. And for that, they
shouldn’t be crucified socially/ pro-
fessionally. They need to be helped.
“It’s not as important to recognize
bad erring doctors so much so as
to prevent good ones from turning
bad.” ‘Being mortal’ is a treatise on
the ‘culture of death’ – developed
world vs developing world, geriatric
medicine, palliative care, ‘when to
let go’, old age/nursing homes/as-
sisted homes, hospice care. The sen-
sitivity of the author to these topics
and his presentation is a big asset of
Dr. Gawande’s writing.
And finally, ‘When breath be-
comes Air’ by Paul Kalanithi. Paul
was a neurosurgical chief resident
when he was diagnosed with stage
4 non - small cell lung cancer and
his life took an ugly turn. A brilliant
student throughout, he had degrees
in biology, medical history & liter-
ature before he embarked upon his
medical career. He loved writing
and at some point wanted to write a
book. So once he was diagnosed and
he realized the limited time he had,
he started writing. The questions of
the purpose of life, the closeness to
death and how the scientific mind
weaves through it, is heart render-
ing.
Our exposure to medical history
and literature via common sources
of information is nothing but rare;
seniors, faculty, coaching etc. The
only person who mentioned this was
Dr. Seenu (Surgery Unit – 3) after
a surgical posting when he said that
literature should be part of the cur-
riculum. Oh, didn’t I feel like falling
at his feet and kissing his hand?! De-
spite the story, emotion or the slight-
ly different way of getting to know
things, but books like the ones I
mentioned above (or didn’t; because
there are bound to be loads of more
novels/ books like these!) can have
a profound impact on learning and
your knowledge and even, the kind
of interests one will harbour in his/
her medical career.
Let
the
learning begin!
Abhilash Konkimalla
2717, Batch of ‘09