Practicing medicine in modern society has become a constant battle to become the best, because of new discoveries and technological advances that are vastly changing the quality of life. Gawande (2007), a medical professional discusses his experience and knowledge on working towards medical improvement, in order to become universally better. He exemplifies how such a small detail in everyday practice can result in drastic advances towards improvement. His example notes the inaccurate upkeep of doctors sanitizing their hands, when coming into contact with a new patient. Gawande advocates how medicine has revolutionized the quality of life, whereas soldiers wounded in combat now have the ability to overcome serious war injuries and we have …show more content…
People go to doctors, in hope for a solution to their health problem. However, medicine cannot solve everything, and neither can a machine, but a fighting doctor can definitely ease the situation and give hope for all. Gawande documents his travels to india; an underdeveloped country that spends too little on healthcare per citizen,. Despite lack or resources, over-crowding of waiting rooms, and unprestigious medical training, these medical professionals manage to fight for the last breath. to give a survival chance for all patients. The author notes, “True success in medicine is not easy. It requires will, attention to detail, and creativity. But the lesson i took from India was that it is possible anywhere and by anyone” (245). Medicine is not always reliant on fancy medical equipment, but rather a fighting individual to never give up on a patient. In the author 's story, an indian doctor persevered to successfully complete neurosurgery and rescued a dying little boy. In situations like this, there is no standard of care. Instead the doctors focus on achieving better results, in order to save lives the best way they know how. Another prime example of how implementing positive change in the medical field is no rocket science would be when Gawande notes how a Viennese physician Ignac Semmelweis discovered doctors are to blame for the passive of …show more content…
Gawande exemplifies how medical professionals don’t have a status quo , because improvement is always necessary to keep up with the practice of medicine. In other words, there is no set definition of better, when it comes to saving lives. Prior to current medical advances, childbirth was the most life threatening event to inflict women during their course of life. Mothers were victims of hemorrhaging and premature babies weren’t given a chance for survival. However, a diligent doctor Watson Bowes revolutionized childbirth for the better. All he did was treat premature babies as if they were fully-grown infants, and discovered something exceptional.. The author notes, “It was a ridiculously simple idea, but it transformed childbirth and the care of the newly born” (185). It was a simple idea, yet it became the standard procedure to assess newborn babies to fight for their survival. He didn’t produce an heavy-equipped medicalized machine, rather implemented an idea for positive change in medicine. Gawande ends his notes on performing well with advice to be universally better, “Look for the opportunity to change. I am not saying you should embrace every new trend that comes along. But be willing to recognize the inadequacies in what you do and to seek out solutions” (257). This
The concepts discussed within the article regarding medicalization and changes within the field of medicine served to be new knowledge for me as the article addressed multiple different aspects regarding the growth of medicalization from a sociological standpoint. Furthermore, the article “The Shifting Engines of Medicalization” discussed the significant changes regarding medicalization that have evolved and are evidently practiced within the contemporary society today. For instance, changes have occurred within health policies, corporatized medicine, clinical freedom, authority and sovereignty exercised by physicians has reduced as other factors began to grow that gained importance within medical care (Conrad 4). Moreover, the article emphasized
Dr. Gawande’s own story, Personal Best (2013), describes the event in which people tend to reach a plateau and perceive to be in a state in which people have nothing more to learn. As a highly educated surgeon, he measures his level of success based on his low rates of complication after surgery in comparison to those of his peers at the national scale. Dr. Gawande never considered the benefit or the idea of having a coach up to this point.
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.
Twenty four centuries ago, Hippocrates created the profession of medicine, for the first time in human history separating and refining the art of healing from primitive superstitions and religious rituals. His famous Oath forged medicine into what the Greeks called a technik, a craft requiring the entire person of the craftsman, an art that, according to Socrates in his dialogue Gorgias, involved virtue in the soul and spirit as well as the hands and brain. Yet Hippocrates made medicine more than a craft; he infused it with an intrinsic moral quality, creating a “union of medical skill and the integrity of the person [physician]” (Cameron, 2001).
Carol finishes her story with a plea for a better communication among the different healthcare providers and the system in general. There is no perfect system, and health care, the system that constantly evolves, deals with life and death, and employs people to fill such diverse niches is probably the most complex of them all, the most difficult to assess, comprehend, and change. As big, complex, and sometimes scary as it seems, it can be changed: talking to a colleague, taking a moment and asking a patient’s opinion. “Be the change you wish to see in the world”, said Gandhi. This is my motto.
The flow and organization of the topics are structured chronologically and easy for readers to have a clear depiction of the progression of the book. He explains and elaborates his ideas and assumptions on struggles with morality, through real voices of patients and his own personal encounter. The first few topics were lighthearted, more on procedural terms such as the demographics of care in the United States and India and the evolution of care. This heightens to themes that are close to one’s heart as he uncovers the relationship amongst medicine, patient, and the family. It also deliberates on the concerns after medicine becomes impotent and society is ill-equipped for the aging population, which highlight the decisions and conversations one should or might have pertaining to death. He makes
In his encounter with a young boy, Lee Tran, who suffered from a tumor compressing his airway which obstructed his ability to breathe, Gawande discusses the sheer luck that resulted in Lee’s “tumor [shifting] rightward, [allowing] airways to both lungs to open up,” as the conflicted doctors did not pursue the safest course of treatment (Gawande 6). This anecdote validates the fact that often doctors cannot foresee the optimal course of action through the smoke of crisis and relied on essentially random chance to save the young boy’s life. Gawande sums up this experience as he admits that while there is science in the profession, there also exists “habit, intuition, and sometimes plain old guessing” (Gawande 7) - rendering the science imperfect. These qualities - habit, intuition, and “plain old guessing” are not empirical qualities proven through the scientific method but rather unquantifiable, refuting the stereotypes conferred by the myth of an infallible science and revealing the medicine is ultimately a human
“We look for medicine to be an orderly field of knowledge and procedure. But it is not. It is an imperfect science, an enterprise of constantly changing knowledge, uncertain information, fallible individuals, and at the same time lives on the line.” There is more to being a great physician than having intellect, clinical experience, and competence in the medical field. A doctor must be daring and genuinely driven to positively impact a patient’s life. A doctor needs stand tall, even in the face of uncertainty.
In the medical community there appears to be a divide between disease-centered care and patient-centered care. Both Charon and Garden, readily acknowledge this. Charon explains how although doctors can boast in their “impressive technical progress,” and “their ability to eradicate once fatal infections,” doctors often lack the abilities to recognize the pain of their patients and to extend empathy (3). Charon further adds that “medicine practiced without a genuine and obligating awareness of what patients go through [empathy] may fulfill its technical goals, but it is an empty medicine, or, at best, half a medicine” (5). Often, doctors fail to remember that their patients are more than just a person with cancer or a congenital heart defect — they are human, a whole person with dreams, aspirations, and fears. According to Charon, “scientifically competent medicine alone cannot help a patient grapple w...
...o find a balance between interventional and non-interventional birth. With this being said, I also understand that there are strict policies and protocols set in place, which I must abide to as a healthcare provider, in any birth setting. Unfortunately, these guidelines can be abused. Christiane Northrup, MD, a well recognized and respected obstetrician-gynecologist has gone as far as to tell her own daughters that they should not give birth in a hospital setting, with the safest place being home (Block, 2007, p. xxiii). Although I am not entirely against hospital births, I am a firm believe that normal, healthy pregnancies should be fully permissible to all midwives. However, high-risk pregnancies and births must remain the responsibility of skilled obstetricians. My heart’s desire is to do what is ultimately in the best interest of the mother, and her unborn child.
...e gap in attitudes between pre-medicalized and modern time periods. The trends of technological advancement and human understanding project a completely medicalized future in which medical authorities cement their place above an intently obedient society.
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.
“Modern medical advances have helped millions of people live longer, healthier lives. We owe these improvements to decades of investment in medical research," says Ike Skelton. As the amount of medical supplies and medical treatments grow, the way our country's hospitals deal with everyday events such as broken arms to dealing with things that devastate lives such as cancer diagnoses. Improvements in history have greatly changed the way the US responds to major events and everyday event in the life of its citizens.
...ts, diseases, medical professionals, knowledge and technological artefacts. Her book is a request to experts and patients to live up to the encounters of good care.
Those in the medical field are on the brink of a new era in health care. Medical schools are graduating some of the brightest students in the world who are putting their tech-savvy skills into practice. And though Generation Y physicians are facing the brunt of the health care changes, this new wave of physicians are open to new ideas and new modes of thinking, and therefore are able to bring a fresh new outlook to health care.