Monday Mornings in Around the World in 80 Books

Apr 13, 2012 Janet Whalen rated it liked it

Ensemble cast book about surgeons at a mythical hospital outside Ann Arbor. Gupta went to school at U of M,(oddly we were in the same dorm at the same time and I'm pretty sure we had a class together)thus I presume he invented Chelsea General to avoid any possible legal issues with setting the book at University of Michigan Medical Centers. The inner lives of a variety of Docs, mainly surgeons, are explored as they struggle with multiple challenges. I wanted to like this book more than I did. Ye Ensemble cast book about surgeons at a mythical hospital outside Ann Arbor. Gupta went to school at U of M,(oddly we were in the same dorm at the same time and I'm pretty sure we had a class together)thus I presume he invented Chelsea General to avoid any possible legal issues with setting the book at University of Michigan Medical Centers. The inner lives of a variety of Docs, mainly surgeons, are explored as they struggle with multiple challenges. I wanted to like this book more than I did. Yes, famous surgeons can make mistakes that cost lives, and this is an incredible burden. Actually, everyone in health care carries this burden, including nurses, technicians and therapists of multiple stripes, and most of us aren't swimming in money. At one point in the book, a surgeon who has become emotionally paralyzed by a fatal mistake hops a flight to Miami to stay in a luxury hotel, then flies to Colorado to see his sister for a cup of tea to talk about it. I recognize that it takes incredible drive, intelligence and stamina to survive and thrive in high-powered academic medicine. I couldn't get through the years of coursework followed by marathon shifts of internships and residencies, then continued expectations of research, publications and teaching while trying to care for patients in practice. Much of the public thinks that Doctors are Gods, and Gupta shows us that they are deeply flawed gods. But he by no means undermines the idea that they are gods. Some of his characters show righteous anger at the injustices of the system. Tina, one of the doctors who's story we follow, becomes angry and complains to her boss when a resident is tossed for an error no more egregious than others committed by surgeons in the course of the book. But the resident is booted anyway. I'm not clear what point Gupta is making. He doesn't take the obvious opportunity to attack the System. The System has been very very good to Dr. Gupta, and indeed he praises its internal discipline. He appears blind to how the system itself causes errors by expecting men and women to be as Gods; hubris anyone? Most of his major characters achieve some sort of resolution by the end of the book, but I am left wanting. Gupta's characters seem blissfully unaware of their supporting cast of nurses and other healthcare providers. One nurse achieves the status of character, but only due to her relationship with a surgeon. A great deal of medical terminology is tossed about within the book. I understand it, but I would think many of his readers outside of the health professions would not. Im not certain if all the technical language is there for atmosphere or to remind people that medicine is a world apart or what. As a nurse, I did appreciate the authenticity. He did give an inside look at medicine, but I was left unsatisfied ultimately, unclear exactly what Gupta's point really was. ...more

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Apr 17, 2012 Mary rated it really liked it

Every time surgeons operate, they're betting their skills are better than the brain tumor, the faulty heart valve, the fractured femur. Sometimes, they're wrong. At Chelsea General, surgeons answer for bad outcomes at the Morbidity and Mortality conference, known as M & M. This extraordinary peek behind the curtain into what is considered the most secretive meeting in...more
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