A Fullness of Uncertain Significance: Stories of Surgery, Clarity, & Grace

by Bruce H. Campbell

When Dr. Bruce H. Campbell first set foot in a hospital as a seventeen-year-old nursing assistant, he observed the best and the worst of doctors, hospitals, and the entire health care team. These lessons returned to him and shaped his own journey as he became a surgeon. Through these well-crafted, poignant, sometimes funny, and always insightful stories, he shares what his patients and their families shared, having never forgotten what it felt like to be a beginner.

Genres: Memoir

316 pages, Hardcover

Published September 28, 2021

About the author

Bruce H Campbell, MD is a retired head and neck cancer surgeon and faculty member at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). His book, A Fullness of Uncertain Significance: Stories of Surgery, Clarity, & Grace is a collection stories, essays, and insights gleaned over the course of his life and career. Links to purchase from the publisher, indie bookstores, and online are at https://www.BruceCampbellMD.com/book

He edited two books:
"Character and Caring: Pandemic Year in Medical Education" (TEN16, 2021)
"Character and Caring: Medical Education Emerges from the Pandemic" (TEN16, 2023)

His short story, "Old Scrubs," appears in the anthology:
"Where It Hurts: Dispatches from the Emotional Frontlines of Medicine" (The Experiment, 2026)

He graduated from Rush Medical College and did his residency at MCW. After a fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center, he returned to Milwaukee, spending his career caring for cancer patients and teaching the next generation of physicians about patient care and narrative.

He and his wife, Kathi, live near Milwaukee, WI.

Reviews

[Megz]

If a medical doctor pens a memoir, I will read it.

I don’t care if they are a surgeon (uneasy relationship), a physician (intimidatingly book smart), or an anaesthetist (well that’s pretty close to home). Even if nobody else reads your book, I will be your audience of one.

But A Fullness of Uncertain Significance by Bruce H. Campbell (MD FACS) deserves so much more than an audience of one.

(Read my full review with excerpts on my blog.)

The subtitle to A Fullness is “Stories of Surgery, Clarity, and Grace”, and it couldn’t be more accurate. But it is grace that shines brightest of all.

Medicine is a world of ego. Whether we have it, or we simply try to “fake it til we make it”, medical memoirs often take on a subtle air of importance. It may be hard-won, but it is unmissable.

Campbell, meanwhile, is certainly one of the humblest doctors I have ever had the pleasure to read.

"The capacity to give one’s attention to a sufferer is a very rare and difficult thing; it is almost a miracle; it is a miracle."

The vignettes in A Fullness have no trace of judgment. No excuses, no thinly veiled justifications for “unpopular opinions”. Just acceptance and care of the person in front of him. Whether they have come in fresh off the street with nobody to support them, or they arrive with a supportive family in tow.

Unique to Campbell’s memoir is his views on the road to medicine and modern medical training. Any doctor can be “nice” to their patients, but their character is shown in how they interact with their trainees.

It is shown in how they reflect on their own training, and their growth in training others.

Campbell writes like one who thinks earnestly – ever-reflective, never immovable in his views, never impenetrable to change; fully aware that the future requires growth and healing.

He has the kind of humility I wish to see in all doctors. Many medical memoirs serve to inspire doctors early in their careers, but this is one that I hope can also encourage those in the middle, and even near the end, of their careers.

My only criticism is that the cover of A Fullness is unassuming to its own disadvantage. I’m not sure it will catch the browsing readers’ eye, and I want it to.

I can’t recommend this book enough. Add it to your list, today.

Disclaimer: I received a free eGalley via NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Kim]

Humorous and humble, serious and sublime, these lean essays offer a glimpse behind the surgical drape to show what it’s like to be a cancer surgeon over the course of a long, rewarding career. From Campbell’s first invitation into the “inner sanctorum” of the O.R. as a nurse’s aide while in college, through tender interactions with patients, to his projections about the profession when he is long gone, this smart, sensitive surgeon illustrates how doctors can listen to, care for, and learn from their patients. He courageously goes to the “hard places” as well as sharing those special moments that make it all worthwhile. Early in the collection, Campbell writes, “Besides being a surgeon, I am also a human being.” This beautiful book is about both.

[Johnathon]

Dr. Campbell's stories are inspiring and eye-opening. You will laugh and cry. A top 3 book for my in 2021.

[Rana]

Dr. Bruce Campbell is a gift to medicine. This book is further evidence of that. He sees so clearly what truly matters.

[Russ]

For a non-physician, these short, engaging stories provide some eye-opening insights into the world of doctor-patient relationships.

[Joanne Nelson]

In A Fullness of Uncertain Significance: Stories of Surgery, Clarity, & Grace, Dr. Bruce Campbell delves into what it means to practice medicine from both the mind and the heart. Dr. Campbell takes the reader along with him as he shares the stories of his career and examines his own difficult choices along the way. We learn of successes, but also of the moments and choices that he has found most difficult as a surgeon and educator. These choices are ones which ultimately shape him into the gifted physician, mentor, writer he is today. This is a generous and heartfelt book--a gift to anyone with a love of healing and of words.

[Pam Parker]

What a generous, heart-filled book this is! Surgeons get a bad-rap in the stereotype department as being self-absorbed prima donas. Dr. Bruce Campbell is so removed from that stereotype. His essays -- reflective, humble, absorbing -- give readers a glimpse into the operating room, the doctor's office in difficult and life-changing moments, the doctor-patient-family relationships, and the lessons learned over a long career of service. Dr. Campbell is a mentor, teacher, surgeon, and gifted writer. I hope this book finds its way to many, many readers.

[Allyson Dyar]

“The awe of discovering the human body. The honor of being trusted to give advice. The gratitude for helping someone through a difficult illness. These things never grow old.”

― Danielle Ofri, MD via The New York Times


Dr Campbell started his long medical journey as an orderly at a local hospital during his downtime from college. His book “A Fullness of Uncertain Significance: Stories of Surgery, Clarity, & Grace” chronicles his passage through his personal life, school, and medicine. The book is a series of short vignettes chronically different aspects of his long career as a head and neck surgeon. Here, we witness his first exposure to surgery to his work in Africa (working alongside his son who, at the time, was a medical student) to his interactions with his patients. All his stories are driven by a sense of purpose, humility, and an understanding of what it is to be a doctor.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the more personal aspects of medicine, especially between doctor and patient.

Dr Campbell just recently retired from medicine, but not from writing and in fact, will be continuing his musings on his own website: https://www.brucecampbellmd.com/. I look forward to reading about what he thinks about retirement. I’ll bet it will be as interesting as his medical career.

[Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest and objective opinion which I have given here.]

[Greta (Upcloseandbookish)]

I enjoy medical memoirs so much! This book consists of many short stories of different patients that surgeon Bruce H. Campbell has operated on. I found them all very interesting and I especially appreciated the compassion and care that Dr. Campbell has showed throughout his career.

[yamiyoghurt]

I enjoyed the introspective snippets of the author’s emotional world. The writing is zen like, full of awareness, giving significance to moments. The author himself is a doctor with his heart in the right place. It was a pleasurable read.

[Vickie]

Bruce Campbell's book of essays about his practice as a ENT cancer surgeon are beautifully written, compelling, and enlightening. As I read through the essays, I kept finding new favorites. Campbell also includes essays about his travels to Kenya with other doctors to treat patients there, which are interesting for many reasons. I was amazed by the strength and humanity of the patients, their families, and Dr. Campbell. After reading these essays, I have a new level of gratitude for people who become doctors of oncology. These essays made me cry, smile, and sometimes laugh, and that's what we all do in life.

[Dave Reads]

I finished reading Dr. Bruce Campbell's book, "A Fullness of Uncertain Significance: Stories of Surgery, Clarity, and Grace." While it focused on many stories of cases he has seen in his work as a head and neck cancer surgeon, it also showed the kind and human side of the man.

I've had the privilege of knowing Dr. Campbell for many years unrelated to his work in the medical profession. I've always felt he was an intelligent and caring individual. The book confirms that this attitude carries over into his medical career.

I'm sure I'm not the first to say this, but given his specialty, I wouldn't want to have to see him professionally. No one wants to be diagnosed with cancer. But having read about how Dr. Campbell approaches even the most challenging cancer cases, he would be the kind of doctor we would all want if the situation warranted it..

[Linda Metzger]

This book was right up my alley. I love anything to do with nursing, patient doctor relationship, learning about medical illness but most of all compassion between nurse/doctor/surgeon and patient! I really enjoyed his stories from his nursing days to doctor/surgeon days that were so interesting, insightful and many times a bit humorous! Such a different book and one I really enjoyed!
I highly recommend it!

[Jane]

With his willingness to delve beneath the surface, Bruce Campbell has created a deftly interwoven series of lessons gleaned from poignant moments of a fulfilling surgical career. In a warm, compassionate, and honest voice, Dr. Campbell delivers to the reader not just insights on medicine, but truths about humanity.

[Jane]

Dr Campbell’s beautifully written book of essays should be required reading for doctors and nurses in training!

[Liz (lavenderbug)]

This book was truly a gift to read. The essays are an exploration of the meaning of medicine and the grace we can only experience through vulnerability, intermixed with incredible insight and humor. If you have ever wondered what it’s like to be a surgeon, this book is a fantastic start.