Death on the Learning Curve

by Pierce E. Scranton

A hospital operating room may not be as safe as you think it is. Hiding among the sterile scrubs and gleaming instruments of an operating room is a whole lot of high drama: split-second life-and-death decisions.deep questions of ethics.roaring personality conflicts.the glory of saving a life-and the horror when a simple procedure goes terribly wrong.Renowned surgeon Pierce Scranton, Jr., kept a detailed diary of his internship year at a busy California teaching hospital. This book is a vivid, fictionalized memoir of that year in the trenches. Through the intertwined stories of teachers, students and patients, it explores issues like: What happens when teaching and healing come into conflict? When is a new treatment to prolong life a good idea, and when is it a disaster? How did lawyers and bean-counters get so much power? And when do relationships between doctors and other staff go too far? This honest account is startling and sometimes shocking-but always gripping.

329 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 2006

Reviews

[Terry Shelton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll read almost any reality-based book set in a hospital or other medical setting. This book was written by a doctor taken from his experiences as a resident. My only complaint is that it's set in the 1980's and is thus somewhat out of date with current medical technology. But a good read non the less.