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.
A doctor’s job is to save people. However, they cannot be given the title of being God like because they do not have the power of giving and taking away life. Similarly, Fitz tries to save Mr. Amiel’s life in “Night Flight”, but fails to do so. This short story exemplifies how the course of nature can not be stopped for any reasons. Although, Fitz knew from before that Mr.Amiel was not going to live long he still decides to complete his duty in the chance of him surviving. Fitz says, “I say that this is an unfortunate case, and obviously Dr. Manolas has done everything in his power” (Lam 246). Regardless of knowing Mr. Amiel is dying and is in serious condition, Fitz takes him on the plane. Despite the effort, Fitz knows the chances of Mr. Amiel surviving are low and therefore tries to consult Mrs. Amiel. He says, “‘He is physically delicate’, I say. I try to continue, to explain specifics. I want to clear my conscience by mention...
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...immature guy who was very easy to manipulate. His character changes as he became more mature, understanding and revengeful, but still being compassionate. His actions reflected on his character, either by not giving up on his patients in “Code Clock” or by trying to explain to the people of Guatemala that there is a fire in the village in “Night Flight”. In the end he proved to be a successful doctor, even if he not omnipotent. In the novel “Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures”, Lam debunks the myth that doctors are all knowing and God like. As he demonstrates Fitz fallibility as he fails to save people lives, keep his patients under control and catches deadly diseases on himself, proving doctors to be imperfect. Doctors are just like every other human being on earth, they tend to make mistakes and cannot control saving someone who is trapped between life and death.
The main medical issues in this novel are related to the suspicious deaths of individuals in contact with Dr. Moe Mathis and medical malpractice cases. First of all, Casey, Mathis’s young and healthy colt died of a sudden death. As Dr. Mathis performed an autopsy on him, he found that the horse ingested blue pills. He identified the pills as Coumadin, a blood thinner. This would explain the animal’s death due to an extensive hemorrhage. Hence, his death would probably be a premediated murder. Moreover, Mr. Swensen, a patient of Dr. Mathis whom was diagnosed with stage IV prostate cancer, shortly died after surgery of a cause identified as pulmonary embolus. It was found that he was misdiagnosed and did not have any cancer at all. This showed a medical
Grant successfully managed to treat Mr. G she comes to the realization that a doctor should not judge a patient no matter how they may act, as each patient may have a reason for acting the way they do. Dr. Grant has managed to learn how to combine her own personal experience with her doctoral skills she had learned in medical schools. Dr Grant believes. “ …[A]fter twenty-eight years of schooling, my education continues, both inside and outside the classroom” ( 183). Mr. G was the key figure in changing Dr. Grants judgement. If Mr. G had not shed light onto why he was in the hospital and how he felt stripped of his freedom to Dr. Grant she probably would have just branded him as crazy, she probably would have done the same to similar patients. As Dr. Grant states, “ … I was proud of myself for having accomplished my task… I was proud of myself because I had decided not to prejudge Mr. G” (182). Mr. G exposing his true emotions to Dr. Grant was the reason that she learned that she should not judge unique patients but instead, she should try to communicate with them and better understand so she can better help
People trust doctors to save lives. Everyday millions of Americans swallow pills prescribed by doctors to alleviate painful symptoms of conditions they may have. Others entrust their lives to doctors, with full trust that the doctors have the patient’s best interests in mind. In cases such as the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, the Crownsville Hospital of the Negro Insane, and Joseph Mengele’s Research, doctors did not take care of the patients but instead focused on their self-interest. Rebecca Skloot, in her contemporary nonfiction novel The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, uses logos to reveal corruption in the medical field in order to protect individuals in the future.
Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures is an ideal addition to the 4U English course. It relates course texts in an effort to give students the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of all media covered in the curriculum. Furthermore, the author explores the duality of human nature through many of his characters and their actions throughout the novel, giving students the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of one of the core course themes. There are also many situations and emotions present in the novel that grade twelve students may experience as they leave their secondary school. In conclusion, not only would this text provide teachers with plenty of opportunities for academic assessment, but it also gives students an insight into reacting and coping with whatever their future may bring, which is essential for teenagers who will grow to lead the world.
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
This quote centers Henrietta Lacks’ story around the same questions that have driven the Doctoring course: What does it mean to care for others? And how do we ensure that we care for our patients first as people, rather than as a disease? In many ways, Henrietta Lacks’ story is a textbook case in how not to be a good physician. In examining and learning from her story through the lens of Doctoring, we can inform our own practice and
Duffin, Jacalyn. Medical Saints: Cosmas and Damian in a Postmodern World. : Oxford University Press, 2013-06-01. Oxford Scholarship Online. 2013-05-23. Date Accessed 17 Feb. 2014
In the essay “When Doctors Make Mistakes” written by Atul Gawande, he writes a first-hand account of mistakes made by himself and his colleagues. The essay is divided into five parts, each named to the narrative and emotions of the story he would tell. In each story he tells, he uses such vivid language that we as readers feel as if we are one of his colleagues. Each section has its own importance to the whole point he was trying to get across, ““All doctors make terrible mistakes” (657).
This internal conflict is a result of the mistakes a physician makes, and the ability to move on from it is regarded as almost unreachable. For example, in the essay, “When Doctors Make Mistakes”, Gawande is standing over his patient Louise Williams, viewing her “lips blue, her throat swollen, bloody, and suddenly closed passage” (73). The imagery of the patient’s lifeless body gives a larger meaning to the doctor’s daily preoccupations. Gawande’s use of morbid language helps the reader identify that death is, unfortunately, a facet of a physician’s career. However, Gawande does not leave the reader to ponder of what emotions went through him after witnessing the loss of his patient. He writes, “Perhaps a backup suction device should always be at hand, and better light more easily available. Perhaps the institutions could have trained me better for such crises” (“When Doctors Make Mistakes” 73). The repetition of “perhaps” only epitomizes the inability to move on from making a mistake. However, this repetitive language also demonstrates the ends a doctor will meet to save a patient’s life (73). Therefore, it is not the doctor, but medicine itself that can be seen as the gateway from life to death or vice versa. Although the limitations of medicine can allow for the death of a patient to occur, a doctor will still experience emotional turmoil after losing someone he was trying to
Not only did the doctors hard work “not receive a single word of thanks… [they were] greeted with resentment” (Fadiman 57). Lia’s disease frustrated the doctors because they could not treat her the way they wanted. Lia’s situation did not alleviate the frustration the Lees had either. The doctors’ reasoning “only strengthened the parents’ opposition. [Nao Kao and Foua] said if the doctor drew any more blood against their will, they would both commit suicide” (Fadiman 51).
Making a comparison that " old people who are on their way out anyway" (page
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.
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.
Medicine as a Form of Social Control This critique will examine the view that medicine is a form of social control. There are many theorists that have different opinions on this view. This critique will discuss each one and their different views. We live in a society where there is a complex division of labour and where enormous varieties of specialist healing roles are recognised.