On the Edge of Life Quotes

“We all look for the crack of dawn that signals the passage of responsibility to a fresh crew. We all know the system sucks, that the long hours make for fuzzy thinking and that they generate pure blind hate at facing that next ridiculous admission. We all feel the frustration of doing too much for too few, and the insecurity of not knowing how much is too much or if it was really too little. We don’t like admitting how little we know, and none of us wants to look like fools. We don’t like criticism and yet we need it. We flog and flog, and rarely have the opportunity to see the veritable forest for the trees. We hate the patients for making more work for us. We especially hate the grossly self-destructive ones who don’t deserve our sweat and society’s money.”
― Mikkael A. Sekeres, On the Edge of Life: Diary of a Medical Intensive Care Unit

“Some time way back in the latter half of my internship, I gave up the idea of saving lives and became more comfortable with the idea of managing illness to limit dis-ease. But in the ICU we really aren’t even able to do that very much since almost all the definitive maneuvers have already been made or are not any longer an option. As a result, what we do for ourselves and what we do for patients are really two distinct things. For ourselves we manage to learn a great deal about the mechanics of medical care for desperately sick people. For patients and, more importantly, for families, I’m beginning to think what we do is simply provide a dramatic, even gruesome ritual of dying.”
― Mikkael A. Sekeres, On the Edge of Life: Diary of a Medical Intensive Care Unit

“Whoever invented the ICU should see some of the patients we have here. With reference to the atom bomb, Einstein said, “With the development of the bomb, everything has changed save our mode of thinking, and thus we drift perilously.” I propose with the invention of the ICU we also need to change our way of thinking. Just because we have the capacity to prolong life in elderly people doesn’t mean we have to and yet we do; every day in this place we prolong suffering at little benefit. Bring back the house call and a hold of the hand.”
― Mikkael A. Sekeres, On the Edge of Life: Diary of a Medical Intensive Care Unit