In Richard Selzer’s piece on the Exact Location of the Soul, he makes several important points that highlight the way that many surgeons may feel. He introduces the piece by posing the question about why would a surgeon write and giving the most common answers that most “outsiders”, people who aren’t surgeons may see. Eventually he settles on the fact that it is to “search for something meaningful” in surgery which he describes as “murderous, painful, healing, and full of love”. I found that this phrase was interesting because it seemed to imply that surgeons see writing as an escape, a way to justify the horrors or other feelings that they may experience when they perform surgeries. On the other hand the phrase itself of being murderous but also healing and full of love seems very obscure in the sense that generally events that are described as murderous aren’t healing at the same time. Selzer’s use of these phrases emphasizes the complex nature of surgeries.
It was interesting that initially Selzer claimed that the “poet is the only true doctor” however, later on he says that writing about doctors “must be done by
…show more content…
He references the story of Don Immanuel, a saint who eventually became an atheist because his own faith “left him”. Later on, he talks about how he wants to “find the exact location of the soul” and how he was determined he had found it when he removed an abscess from a patient’s arm. But eventually after removing the abscess he is told that the abscess was actually as a result of a botfly and would have come out on its own. In my opinion, Selzer adds this story to make the point that surgeons can’t always save the world and in reality finding the “exact location of the soul” is akin to finding the fountain of youth. People look for it their whole life but more often than not don’t find
Dr. Atul Gawande, a Harvard Medical School graduate and writer for The New Yorker, phenomenally illustrates the unknown side of healthcare professions in his book, Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science. By exploring the ethical and analytical aspects of medicine while entertaining readers with relatable anecdotes, Gawande impresses on his audience the importance of recognizing the wonders of the healthcare field, as well as the fallibility of those within it.
Almost doctors and physicians in the world have worked at a hospital, so they must know many patients’ circumstances. They have to do many medical treatments when the patients come to the emergency room. It looks like horror films with many torture scenes, and the patients have to pay for their pains. The doctors have to give the decisions for every circumstance, so they are very stressful. They just want to die instead of suffering those medical treatments. In that time, the patients’ family just believes in the doctors and tells them to do whatever they can, but the doctors just do something that 's possible. Almost patients have died after that expensive medical treatments, but the doctors still do those medical procedures. That doctors did not have enough confidence to tell the truth to the patients’ families. Other doctors have more confidence, so they explain the health condition to the patients’ families. One time, the author could not save his patient, and the patient had found another doctor to help her. That doctor decided to cut her legs, but the patient still died in fourteen days
Sinclair Lewis uses the education of Martin Arrowsmith as a means of examining whether medical universities should be dedicated primarily to teaching or to research. This specific argument is exemplified by the fictional University of Winnemac, where there is an atmosphere that is relatively hostile towards the research Gottlieb and Martin wish to pursue. Gottlieb is generally dismissed as “unconscious of the world,” “an old laboratory plug,” “a ‘crapehanger’ who wasted time destroying the theories of others instead of making new ones of his own” (Lewis 10, 35, 9). He is forced to waste his time teaching elementary bacteriology to students who are not interested, while Arrowsmith is forced to waste his time taking classes unrelated to the research he loves. Martin’s lack of interest in his classes seems to say that rather than take a wide variety of science classes medical students who wish to pursue research should be allowed only to take classes needed for research. Lewis’ portrayal of Gottlieb’s l...
Abortion is a tremendous issue in our society today. As well as the article “Abortion” by Selzer, I have also read Mortal Lessons, a book he had also written. Selzer is an author who wrote in order to describe “unsparingly the surgeon’s art, opening up the body to view one part at a time.” The article “Abortion” classifies him as a doctor, but the way in which he writes makes him a philosopher as well. Selzer not only writes about the physical aspects of surgery, but also the emotional and psychological sides that agree with it.
The Power of Mistakes Atul Gawande is not only our resident surgeon; he’s also a patient himself. He’s anxious before performing surgery, he dwells on mistakes, and he has emotions: he’s human and he understands us. However, he does not appear to share concerns with his patients initially. Gawande experiences a long, drawn-out development from a young medical student to the doctor he is today. This process of identifying with patients is evident in his anthology of essays, Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science.
For countless years there has always been an urgent need for doctors. Different methods would be used to cure people from their sicknesses. However, life is given by God and it is he who can take it away. Doctors play the role of saving lives, but in the end, they are powerless because nature has to take its course leaving humanity at its limits. In Vincent Lams novel “Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures”, Lam challenges the myth that doctors are omnipotent by contending that “medicine is a science of uncertainty and an art of probability”. Using Fitzgerald as a focal point, Lam debunks the myth that doctors are omnipotent through situations of medical failure, having a loss of power and control and by inhabiting deadly diseases. By showings his mistakes, Lam proves that Fitz is not perfect and God like.
... the Madman, I have learned that redemption is possible, even given the most hopeless circumstances. After Minor committed a horrible crime, he fell from grace and lost his integrity. The once highly esteemed surgeon was reduced to being referred to as, “Poor Dr. Minor” (Winchester 161). Yet he was able to find restitution in contributing to the Oxford English Dictionary. He discovered a sense of purpose, in helping create the work, while he was locked away, isolated, and disheartened. Doctor Minor’s story is not solely a tale of murder and insanity, but also a message about hope and redemption.
[Chillingworth] ‘Prithee, friend leave me alone with my patients […] my old studies and alchemy observed he, and my sojourn for above a year past, among a people well versed in the kindly propertied of simples have made a better physician of me then many that claim the medical degree […] What should ail me, to harm this misbegotten and miserable babe? The medicine potent for good as it were my child […] I could do no better’ (Hawthorne 66-67).
Marks, J. H. (2005, December 26). The silence of the doctors. The Nation, 26. Retrieved June 6, 2011, from PsycINFO.
Furthermore, Sexton also makes a great point in that “doctors should fear arrogance;” which is my favorite part of the poem because I believe that all healthcare workers are overly confident. Whether it be a doctor who may think he/she
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
There are many different themes in, “Love Medicine” a book written by Louise Erdrich. Some of which are poverty, family, racism, and religion. The one that I am going to write about, is love. Love is one of the most prominent themes in this book. It conveys a mother’s love for her children, a wife’s love for her husband, and a son’s love for the ones whom he perceives his parents to be. This is but to name a few examples of love found in the book by Ms. Erdrich. However, there is also the lack of love that this work of literature portrays. There is mistreatment and betrayal, which are examples that are opposite of love.
Having someone's life in your hands is terrifying, but poetic. In Richard Selzer's The Knife, it is communicated that surgery is a risk, an art form and an invigorating sensation.
As the story begins, the unnamed doctor is introduced as one who appears to be strictly professional. “Aas often, in such cases, they weren’t telling me more than they had to, it was up to me to tell them; that’s why they were spending three dollars on me.” (par. 3) The doctor leaves the first impression that he is one that keeps his attention about the job and nothing out of the ordinary besides stating his impressions on the mother, father and the patient, Mathilda. Though he does manage to note that Mathilda has a fever. The doctor takes what he considers a “trial shot” and “point of departure” by inquiring what he suspects is a sore throat (par. 6). This point in the story, nothing remains out of the ordinary or questionable about the doctor’s methods, until the story further develops.
American society , his personal experiences and perceptions formed on the basis of those experiences.