Imagine you’re a surgeon in the O.R., scalpel in hand, ready to operate on an “ordinary” patient. At least that's what you’re telling yourself as this person's life is in your hands. Literally. But as you place the sharp scalpel, you remember what you’re expected to forget. You are operating on a criminal who had killed his wife; and you can’t do anything but help him. A requirement for surgeons sometimes includes neglecting morals. For a Washington surgeon from Barnes hospital, Paul Ruggieri, he had exactly this experience. In the novel, Confessions of a Surgeon, Ruggieri experiences internal conflict leading up to the development of his career, neglecting his morals, and dealing with the lawsuits associated with negative surgical outcomes. …show more content…
Ruggieri begins his book in chapter one with his detailed observations and feelings as he is about to perform his first surgery as a resident. “The first two fingers of my right hand were rigid with fear, frozen in position. My crisp white doctor’s coat was beginning to wilt from the sweat racing down my back. The tension in the room was rising. I simply had no idea what my next move should be” (Ruggieri 1). For Ruggieri and other surgeons around the world, performing the first operation successfully is key for the competitive career of surgery. Along with that, Ruggieri also has to cope with stress when his nervousness takes over as he examines patients for the first time. “This was my first clinical pelvic exam and, in my mind, I was failing miserable. The situation was out of my control.My fingers, arm, and neck were so tensed up I would have admitted to anything to get the ‘exercise’ over with” (Ruggieri 3). Despite the fact of the stress that comes with residency, Ruggieri overcame his struggle and continues to be the skilled surgeon he is …show more content…
Ruggieri not only felt remorse for a former patient who passed when a co-worker was operating, but with that was sued by the family for an operation he didn’t perform. “As the lawsuit ran its course, I became angrier. I wanted answers to why and how everyone around me had become convert enablers of a surgeon who should not have been operating” (Ruggieri 81). Surgeons don't always succeed; It’s part of life. Mistakes are made in the O.R., and that is just what happened for Dr. Ruggieri. “ ‘What is this?’ ‘Kathy, a letter from any lawyer is never good news.’ I slowly opened it and started reading. You are hereby named as one of the defendants in the lawsuit brought by Mrs. Williams for gross negligence … I read on … contributing to a retained surgical sponge in her abdomen. I couldn't read any more” (Ruggieri 215). A perfect human being does not exist, therefore does Mrs. Williams have the right
Popular television paint a glorified image of doctors removing the seriousness of medical procedures. In the non-fiction short story, “The First Appendectomy,” William Nolen primarily aims to persuade the reader that real surgery is full of stress and high stakes decisions rather than this unrealistic view portrayed by movies.
This year, the applications to enroll in medical schools increased by 6.1 percent to more than 48,000, breaking records set in 1996 (Lopatto). Job openings for doctors and nurses sparked the interest of the younger generation, and this, I believe, is because of the enthralling and captivating experiences that result from these fields. The article “The Central Line” by Atul Gawande covers an example of what these future surgeons and medics learn while in the field. However, the student will not perform perfectly the first time. Of course, the techniques of using the tools and how to perform the procedures take practice and time to perfect, exhibited through Gawande’s writing. Repetition and training is needed to excel at any skill or act. In his article, Gawnde motivates his readers through the use of his credibility and emotional appeals to the learning curb.
———. "A surgeon's code of behaviour and ethics, c. 1376." English Historical Documents. Accessed December 8, 2013. http://www.historystudycenter.com/search/displaySuitemPageImageItemById.do?UseMapping=SuitemPageImage&QueryName=suitem&ItemID=10648&resource=ehd&imageNumber=4&scale=100.
The guiding principle, being utilitarianism, is to act in the way which will always produce the maximum overall amount of goodness in the world. The basic purpose of morality is making the world a much better place to live in (Hinman, 2014). Morality is also about producing some good consequences and not having any kind of good intension. It also states that we should be doing whatever brings the maximum benefit (intrinsic value) to the entire humanity.
About a year ago, while searching for a new book to read, I came across the book Complications at the library. Since I am considering becoming a physician, I picked it up and started reading. Needless to say, I couldn’t put it down. The way he explained his training as a surgeon and the moments he has experienced have intrigued me. In the little free time I had, I finished reading the three other books he has written. They
The novel “Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures” by Vincent Lam takes the readers through experiences that occur from being a physician. A physician, undoubtedly has a very difficult and stressful job as it is another person’s life in their hands. Vincent Lam’s short stories come straight from his own experiences and the barriers encountered to obtain a status in the medical field. The novel starts off with Vincent Lam going through the personal lives of Ming and Fitzgerald along with a few of their colleagues that grind through medical school to become a physician. It is evident throughout this novel that these physicians face a lot of ethical dilemmas. Physicians typically have to handle patients throughout their day, it disengages them from their personal life making room for obstructed thinking. From whole-hearted scenes to dark humorous scenes, this novel allows the reader to experience a physician’s life virtually. It also presents the great struggles experienced due to perceptions of others and one’s own desires to feel a certain way. Relationships often become obstructed as the desires of an individual becomes conflicted with the perception of culture and family views.
Albert Jonsen, the author of “A Short History of Medical Ethics”, covers more than two thousand years of renowned medical history in a mere hundred and twenty pages. He covers many cultural customs and backgrounds involving medical discourse, beliefs, and discoveries which have led to the very formation of the distinguished society we live in today. However, throughout this brief tour, Jonsen exploits the fact that even though there have been many cultural differences, there are a few common themes which have assimilated over the years and formed the ethics of medicine. The most prevalent themes of ethics presented in Jonsens text, are decorum, deontology and politic ethics. Decorum is referred to as both the professional etiquette and personal virtues of medicine. Deontology refers to rules and principles, and politic ethics expresses the duties physicians have to the community.
What surprised me the most was that I was in surgery that I found the most enjoyment, the most satisfaction. During every day of my rotation I went home exhausted, but happy. Sure there were long days observing and helping in the operating room and changing dressings on the floor, but I was happy doing it. I went home feeling like I accomplished something, that what I did mattered, that I had help improve my patient’s quality of
Imagine being a first year medical surgeon just out of the highest-ranking university in the nation. You are placed in the ER, in the Methodist Hospital building, as your days are spent saving people from the cruel realities that they are forced to live among. Day after day, you see handfuls of people coming in with a variety of gunshot, knife, and domestic violence wounds. Your troubles are easily compensated, however, by receiving over $200,000 a year, a brand new Mercedes, and a house upon the palisade shores. Suppose for a moment that one evening while you are on duty, an ambulance radios in and informs the hospital staff that they are bringing in a multiple gunshot wound victim and to prepare the ER for an immediate operation. You begin to order people around and dictate what needs to be prepared before the ambulance arrives. Finally the victim is present, only to show that he is not the average gangster or policeman, instead it is the near lifeless body of your own son. Your blood freezes; your brain shuts down, as you see every precious second slip away through the lifeless gaze of your child's eyes.
In the book Complications, Atul writes about his experiences as a surgical residents and demonstrates a point of view of surgery that does not idealize it, but instead displays the actual pressure and complexity it actually is. Atul Gawande speaks to fellow surgeons, surgeons to be or simply those who believe that the study of surgery is just memorizing procedures, nonetheless it’s so much more complex due to the fact that every case that arrives is different. He is able to portray the complexity of surgery by putting his readers in heart racing situations faced by doctors, explaining step by step procedures, giving his personal stories of cases he has assisted in at the hospital as a resident. Atul Gawande appeals to his reader’s attitude
9) Wall, L.L. (2006). The medical ethics of Dr J Marion Sims: a fresh look at the historical record. Journal of Medical Ethics, 32(6), 346-350. doi: 10.1136/jme.2005.012559
Physician-assisted suicide refers to the physician acting indirectly in the death of the patient -- providing the means for death. The ethics of PAS is a continually debated topic. The range of arguments in support and opposition of PAS are vast. Justice, compassion, the moral irrelevance of the difference between killing and letting die, individual liberty are many arguments for PAS. The distinction between killing and letting die, sanctity of life, "do no harm" principle of medicine, and the potential for abuse are some of the arguments in favor of making PAS illegal. However, self-determination, and ultimately respect for autonomy are relied on heavily as principle arguments in the PAS issue.
Diligence is a virtue. This is a theme Atul Gawande presents to the reader throughout Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance. In each story, Gawande provides insight on medical studies he has previously embarked upon. For example, in “The Mop-up” the author tells us about a time when he went to India to observe the efforts to eradicate polio. Gawande explains how he followed a supervisor around and how vaccinations were performed. Additionally, in another chapter he debates on whether physicians should take part in death sentences. Throughout his adventures Gawande provides numerous enriching personal accounts of controversial events and what it is like to be a doctor; each with diligence playing a key part.
Description: For my last journal entry, even though I want to summarize my entire clinical experience over the two semesters, I want to focus on my observation experience which I completed in the OR two Mondays ago. For my observation, I went down to the day surgery window and was brought out back to change into different scrubs. Then I was introduced to the charge nurse for the day, who was more than excited to have me observing in the OR that day. I was given the choice of seeing two surgeries that are interesting or seeing one surgery that the nurse seemed extremely interested in. Instead of seeing a knee arthroplasty and a hip replacement, I chose to go with the surgery the nurse was very interested in. The surgery I saw was a robotic prostatectomy with bilateral lymph node tissue dissection and it was very interesting. I met the patient before they were brought to surgery and then followed the anesthesiologist while they did their speech on what to expect before and after the surgery. Then the anesthesiologist helped a nurse wheel the patient down to surgery and I followed behind. Once in the OR, I met the
My mom, my dad, my orthopedic surgeon, and I were crowded in a small, square, freezing, plain white office where the scent of hand sanitizer filled the air and the only decorations were plastic cadavers. It was a completely different change of scenery from last week when I was stuck in an MRI machine that engulfed my entire body and made loud, uncanny noises for the full forty minutes of the exam. I could not decide if I was more scared in this week’s small office or last week’s big machine. Although it was freezing in the office, sweat started to build up on my forehead because I was too anxious for the words that would come out of my surgeon’s mouth. And they were the exact words that I did not want to