Night Shift: Short Stories from the Life of an ER Doc


Mark Plaster - 2014
    Mark Plaster takes readers beyond the ambulance bay doors into the stranger-than-fiction world of the Emergency Department. By turns heart-warming and gut-wrenching, "Night Shift" chronicles the ebb and flow of human life, in all of its unvarnished glory, as it passes through the doors of the ED.

Health Care Reform and American Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know


Lawrence R. Jacobs - 2010
    social legislation. The new law extends health insurance to nearly all Americans, fulfilling a century-long quest and bringing the United States to parity with other industrial nations. Affordable Care aims to control rapidly rising health care costs and promises to make the United States more equal, reversing four decades of rising disparities between the very rich and everyone else. Millions of people of modest means will gain new benefits and protections from insurance company abuses - and the tab will be paid by privileged corporations and the very rich.How did such a bold reform effort pass in a polity wracked by partisan divisions and intense lobbying by special interests? What does Affordable Care mean - and what comes next? In Health Care Reform and American Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know, Lawrence R. Jacobs and Theda Skocpol--two of the nation's leading experts on politics and health care policy--provide a concise and accessible overview. They explain the political battles of 2009 and 2010, highlighting White House strategies, the deals Democrats cut with interest groups, and the impact of agitation by Tea Partiers and progressives. Jacobs and Skocpol spell out what the new law can do for everyday Americans, what it will cost, and who will pay. Above all, they explain what comes next, as critical yet often behind-the-scenes battles rage over implementing reform nationally and in the fifty states. Affordable Care might end up being weakened. But, like Social Security and Medicare, it could also gain strength and popularity as the majority of Americans learn what it can do for them.

Still Life with Bread Crumbs: by Anna Quindlen -- Review


Expert Book Reviews - 2014
    At 60, Rebecca Winter realizes that her career is more or less dead when she receives an award for her oeuvre. When she relocates to the country, she finds new inspiration for her work, a new way of looking at life, and even love. Check out this detailed review of Still Life with Bread Crumbs for a complete look at the book, including the author's writing style, the best and worst aspects of the novel, and more. The heartwarming story told in Still Life with Bread Crumbs explores powerful ideas about life, and it is rife with symbolism. This expert review includes a look at both reader opinions and critical reception. Quindlen's novel is generally well received and praised for its uplifting message, though some mark the book's predictability. The depiction of the protagonist, a 60-year-old woman, not as aging or in decline but as a vibrant, energetic woman, is both eye-opening and refreshing. The novel feels believable, and the author clearly pays attention to all her characters, giving them depth and dimension. Overall, Still Life with Bread Crumbs proves an enjoyable read for fans of Quindlen's past works, as well as anyone looking for an inspiring read.

Whistle in the Wind: Life, death, detriment and dismissal in the NHS. A whistleblower's story


Peter Duffy - 2019
    Charting his career pathway from auxiliary nurse and unskilled operating theatre orderly, he takes us through his progress to senior consultant surgeon and head of department. In 2015, and after blowing the whistle on a series of near misses, he reluctantly reported an avoidable death, cover-up and ongoing surgical risk-taking to the Care Quality Commission. Within months he was out of work and unemployed. Via avoidable deaths and errors, cover-ups, misuse of public funds, bullying, abuse and victimisation the author charts out in searing detail his demotion, punishments and exile from both family and NHS and the subsequent brutal legal process that followed his illegal dismissal. "Peter's love for his family and for what he does as a surgeon runs through the pages of this gripping book as he takes you on a journey to some of the darker areas of our NHS and legal system. As a society we need to face up to the appalling reality of what the NHS does to staff that speak up and how much public money it wastes fighting people that act in the public interest. Even a committed, award winning surgeon who transformed cancer services was not immune from attempts by the NHS to destroy him when he decided to stand up for patients and services. This is everyone's problem." Dr Chris Day, junior doctor and whistle-blower "As a fellow whistleblower in the same NHS Trust I recommend that everybody should read Peter's account. This is an incredibly important and unmissable portrayal of how toxic NHS management culture is harming patients and destroying the careers and lives of dedicated healthcare professionals. His bravery, dedication to his patients and commitment to exposing the truth is commendable. Read his book to learn the truth as to what is happening every day in NHS Trusts across the UK." Sue Allison, Morecambe Bay whistle-blower "Peter’s book has opened our eyes to a series of injustices that has not only destroyed his family life but revealed appalling wrong doings within the NHS. Our father was sadly a victim in a dysfunctional urological surgery department, where Peter was trying to make a difference against the odds. Our sincerest gratitude goes to a person who has tirelessly fought with passion, dignity and sheer determination against an organisation that wish to silence the honesty of a whistle-blower." Karen and Nicola Read, daughters of ‘Patient A’

Seducing the Billionaire Boss


Melanie Shawn - 2021
    Make that the world. I worked hard to get this job, going above and beyond at every turn, making myself invaluable. The obvious choice.It wasn’t for career advancement, though. It’s because I’ve got a secret. I’m not who Mac Mackenzie thinks I am, and I’m on a mission to prove that he’s not who the world thinks he is.All I need is evidence. That’s why I’ve been working so hard to get close to him, so that I would have enough access to gather it.There’s only one problem, though. Now that I know him, I’m starting to think that maybe I have the wrong target. Maybe he’s not the man I thought he was before I met him. That maybe I’m falling for the man I’m finding out he is.I thought working with Mac would be simple, but now that love is involved, things are getting very complicated.Mac MackenzieWhen I promoted Kira Baker to be my “right hand woman,” I knew it was going to be hard to keep my mind on work when she was around. Her chestnut curls, her deep hazel eyes, her curves that go on for days…all of these things are very distracting.But when things heat up between us, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is more than just a physical attraction.And when I find out things about her past that she thought would always stay hidden, I know one thing for certain—I will do anything to protect her.

Cook County ICU: 30 Years of Unforgettable Patients and Odd Cases


Cory Franklin - 2015
    Cory Franklin. Filled with stories of strange medical cases and unforgettable patients culled from a thirty-year career in medicine, Cook County ICU offers readers a peek into the inner workings of a hospital. Author Dr. Cory Franklin, who headed the hospital’s intensive care unit from the 1970s through the 1990s, shares his most unique and bizarre experiences, including the deadly Chicago heat wave of 1995, treating some of the first AIDS patients in the country before the disease was diagnosed, the nurse with rare Munchausen syndrome, the first surviving ricin victim, and the famous professor whose Parkinson’s disease hid the effects of the wrong medication. Surprising, darkly humorous, heartwarming, and sometimes tragic, these stories provide a big-picture look at how the practice of medicine has changed over the years, making it an enjoyable read for patients, doctors, and anyone with an interest in medicine.

Truth Doesn't Have a Side: My Alarming Discovery about the Danger of Contact Sports


Bennet Omalu - 2017
    Bennet Omalu. Webster’s body looked to Omalu like the body of a much older man, and the circumstances of his behavior prior to his death were clouded in mystery. But when Omalu cut into Webster’s brain, it appeared to be normal. Something didn’t add up.It was at this moment, Omalu studying slides of Webster’s brain tissue under a microscope, that the world of contact sports would never be the same: the discovery of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. CTE can result in an array of devastating consequences including deterioration in attention, memory loss, social instability, depression, and even suicide. And Omalu’s discovery of CTE in the brain of an American football player has become the catalyst of a blazing controversy across all contact sports.At the center of that controversy stands the unlikely Dr. Bennet Omalu, a Nigerian-born American citizen, a mild-mannered, gentle man of faith. It is fascinating that it would take someone on the outside of American culture to make this amazing discovery, and refuse to let it be kept hidden. Dr. Omalu began his life in strife, growing up in war-torn Nigeria. But his medical studies in forensic pathology proved to be a lifeline. It fed his natural curiosity and awakened within a deeper desire to always search for the truth. Who would have thought that such an unexpected character would play such a role in bringing to life this world-changing data?In Truth Doesn’t Have a Side, discover the truth about CTE: Its causes and symptoms, how we might keep our children safe and guide professional athletes when CTE sets in. The problem of CTE is coming to light with each new story about an athlete’s concussion problem, and we are likely facing dramatic changes to professional sports. You’ll be inspired by Dr. Bennet Omalu a man driven by his love and concern for the welfare of all people, and his professional vow to speak the truth.

Living Somewhere Between Estrogen and Death


Barbara Johnson - 1997
    Living Somewhere Between Estrogen and Death is your wise and witty guide to the joys and challenges of aging gleefully."They say the best way to grow old is not to be in a hurry about it and Lord knows, I've put it off for as long as I could," says Barbara. But old age happens without any effort on our part. If you're alive, you're getting older. So what happens when you find yourself between menopause and LARGE PRINT? This best-selling author offers a delightful recipe for living life to the fullest in your later years and spices it with loads of laughter. She shows how she came to her own decision to age ferociously instead of gracefully.From savoring the "here and now" to preparing for our glorious future in heaven, Living Somewhere Between Estrogen and Death is a lighthearted and encouraging book on the joys and problems of growing older. You'll laugh at Barbara Johnson's zany insights on aging.

Prognosis: A Memoir of My Brain


Sarah Vallance - 2019
    The next morning, things take a sharp turn as she’s led from work to the emergency room. By the end of the week, a neurologist delivers a devastating prognosis: Sarah suffered a traumatic brain injury that has caused her IQ to plummet, with no hope of recovery. Her brain has irrevocably changed.Afraid of judgment and deemed no longer fit for work, Sarah isolates herself from the outside world. She spends months at home, with her dogs as her only source of companionship, battling a personality she no longer recognizes and her shock and rage over losing simple functions she’d taken for granted. Her life is consumed by fear and shame until a chance encounter gives Sarah hope that her brain can heal. That conversation lights a small flame of determination, and Sarah begins to push back, painstakingly reteaching herself to read and write, and eventually reentering the workforce and a new, if unpredictable, life.In this highly intimate account of devastation and renewal, Sarah pulls back the curtain on life with traumatic brain injury, an affliction where the wounds are invisible and the lasting effects are often misunderstood. Over years of frustrating setbacks and uncertain triumphs, Sarah comes to terms with her disability and finds love with a woman who helps her embrace a new, accepting sense of self.

Your Life in My Hands: A Junior Doctor's Story


Rachel Clarke - 2017
    It is 4 a.m. I have run arrest calls, treated life-threatening bleeding, held the hand of a young woman dying of cancer, scuttled down miles of dim corridors wanting to sob with sheer exhaustion, forgotten to eat, forgotten to drink, drawn on every fibre of strength that I possess to keep my patients safe from harm.'How does it feel to be spat out of medical school into a world of pain, loss and trauma that you feel wholly ill-equipped to handle? To be a medical novice who makes decisions which - if you get them wrong - might forever alter, or end, a person's life?In 'Your Life in My Hands', television journalist turned junior doctor Rachel Clarke captures the extraordinary realities of life on the NHS frontline. During last year's historic junior doctor strikes, Rachel was at the forefront of the campaign against the government's imposed contract upon young doctors. Her heartfelt, deeply personal account of life as a junior doctor in today's NHS is both a powerful polemic on the degradation of Britain's most vital public institution and a love letter of optimism and hope to that same health service.

Life in His Hands; the True Story of a Neurosurgeon and a Pianist


Susan Wyndham - 2008
    His pioneering "keyhole" techniques have earned him praise around the world, but in his home country he is regarded by some in the profession as reckless and even dangerous. His stock in trade is "inoperable" brain tumours – those malignant cancers that others don't dare treat – and by any estimation he is incredibly successful. In over 5000 operations, he has never lost a patient on the table.He has treated the young and the old, the rich and the poor. His more famous cases have included talkback radio shock jock, Stan Zemanek, the wives of cricketers Steve Waugh and Glenn McGrath, the cancer specialist Dr Chris O'Brien, and the young classical pianist, Aaron McMillan. In 2001, at the age of 24, McMillan was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive brain tumour. He underwent 12 hours of surgery. Two days later he was back playing the piano, preparing to record and perform.Life In His Hands is the remarkable true story of a medical maverick and one of his most high-profile and tragic cases. It is a book full of heartache and hope and scientific marvels. Ultimately, it is a testament to the strength of the human spirit.

Like Falling Through a Cloud: A Lyrical Memoir


Eugenia Zukerman - 2019
    Touching, honest, and fearlessly heartfelt, Like Falling Through a Cloud recounts Zukerman’s discovery, consultations, and diagnosis, all while navigating the death of her 103-year-old mother, a performance at the Kennedy Center, and the consolidation of her life via a full-time move to upstate New York. As she finds strength in family love, self-examination, and the enduring power of creating music, Zukerman teaches us the importance of living in the now, while accepting that what comes next may remain a mystery.

50 Years in the OR: True Stories of Life, Loss, and Laughter While Giving Anesthesia


Ronald Whitchurch - 2020
    

Atlas of Anatomy


Anne M. Gilroy - 2008
    Packed with over 2,400 full-color illustrations, this atlas guides you step-by-step through each region of the body, helping you master the details of anatomy.Key Features:Exquisite full-color illustrations with clear, thorough labeling and descriptive captionsEven more clinical correlations help students make the connection between anatomy and medicineCoverage of each region intuitively arranged to simplify learning: beginning with the skeletal framework, then adding muscles, organs, vasculature, and nerves, and concluding with topographic illustrations that put it all togetherOver 170 tables summarize key anatomic information for ease of study and reviewInnovative, user-friendly format in which each two-page spread is a self-contained guide to a topicSurface anatomy spreads now include regions and reference lines or planes in addition to landmarks and palpable structures to develop physical exam skillsMuscle Fact spreads ideal for memorization, reference, and review organize the essentials about muscles, including origin, insertion, innervation, and actionNew sectional anatomy spreads at the end of units build familiarity with 2D views of anatomic regionsAccess to WinkingSkull.com PLUS, with over 500 images from the book for labels-on and labels-off review and timed self-tests for exam preparationAtlas of Anatomy is the student's choice:Thieme is the best anatomy atlas by far, hands down. Clearer pictures, more pictures, more realistic pictures, structures broken up in ways that make sense and shown from every angle...includes clinical correlations and summary charts of innervations and actions. That's about all there is to it. Just buy it. Thank you Thieme!!! Ok, now back to studying...In my opinion this book surpasses them all. It's the artwork. The artist has found the perfect balance of detail and clarity. Some of these illustrations have to be seen to be believed.... The pearls of clinical information are very good and these add significance to the information and make it easier to remember. Easier to remember is key.

Medical Mysteries: From the Bizarre to the Deadly . . . The Cases That Have Baffled Doctors


Ann Reynolds - 2009
    A man's body is so overwhelmed by a wart infection that his face, body, hands, and feet all look as if they're growing bark and roots.A unusual spinal trauma that only affects first time surfers that can turn an active young person into a paraplegic in a matter of hours.A disorder of the eardrum that turns a person's ability to hear inwards, so that the movement of eyeballs in their sockets sounds like a passing subway car.An inherited disorder that gives the afflicted a fatal case of insomnia."Medical Mysteries" takes on these and many more unusual and rare medical ailments in this collection that is sure to mystify and inspire readers.