Career Series: Exploring Medicine
Review by Julianne Kim
Illustration by Sophia Ye
My answer to the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?”, had always been to be a doctor. However, when asked why, I am uncertain.
Although I think that a single book can’t change a person, I do believe that collectively, books can alter the way you view the world and your future. After reading a couple of books that the SIC has that is related to doctors and their lives, I gained a greater awareness of social issues. What I can do in my position to help my community and country? How can I become a leader and attempt the impossible?
I hope that you can be as inspired as I was from reading these books. What can you do to change the world?
by Lance O’Sullivan
The Good Doctor tells the inspirational life story of Dr Lance O’Sullivan, the man who raised his hands to help those most in need when no one else would. Recently, he was acknowledged as a Sir Peter Blake Emerging Leader, Public Health Champion, Maori of the Year and in 2014, the Kiwi bank New Zealander of the Year. Despite these achievements, Lance’s childhood looked hopeless. Raised by a solo mother and abused by an alcoholic father, Lance was expelled from two schools. His future began to show some light at Hato Petera College as he connected with his Maori ancestry and aspired to study medicine. Lance and his wife Tracy set up a ground-breaking practice in the Far North that offers free healthcare to the many who can’t afford it.
Passionate, brave and free-thinking, Lance risked the dangers at the time of most difficulty.
by Ben Carson
Ben Carson became director of paediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University Hospital. Raised by a single mother in a poor environment, Ben sat at the back of the class, surviving the humiliating laughter of other children. In his teenage years, he developed the inability suppress his emotions. It was so serious that there were times he threatened the life of his friends and his mother. Despite this, at the age of thirty-three, Dr. Carson gained worldwide recognition as he took the most difficult path in his life. His group was the first to successfully separate the Siamese twins joined at the back of their heads – this was a complex and delicate operation that required five months of planning and twenty-two hours of surgery. From his childhood to the operating room, ‘Gifted Hands’ reveals the inspiring true story of the man with compassion, courage and faith in every aspect of his life. He describes that he was only able to transform by the encouragement of his mother and God’s never-ending love. He shares many miracles of God which made who he is today.
“Success is determined not by whether or not you face obstacles, but by your reaction to them. And if you look at these obstacles as a containing fence, they become your excuse for failure. If you look at them as a hurdle, each one strengthens you for the next.”
– Ben Carson ‘Gifted Hands’
by Paul Kalanithi
“When Breath becomes Air” is a biography allows the reader to walk in step with Paul Kalanithi, a surgeon, who at the young age of 37, finds himself tragically diagnosed with the irreversible disease of cancer. The Washington Post published an article about this memoir, highlighting the gripping nature of the text, as Kalanithi describes his training and the dilemmas, he faced in order to help his patients.
His transition from a surgeon to a patient makes the crisis more relevant and real, revealing the truth of death and at the same time, opportunity. Despite its grim undertone, it is an inspiring novel.
Through his time with cancer, the reader will feel his desperation juxtaposed against the calm acceptance of a doctor. This riveting story reveals the complication and importance of a patient and their struggles to a doctor.
“You can’t ever reach perfection, but you can believe in an asymptote toward which you are ceaselessly striving.”
– Paul Kalanithi, ‘When Breath becomes Air’
by Atul Gawande
"Complications" is a gripping, passionate novel on the medical world. Dr Gawande brings to life his heart-wrenching and blissful experiences as a surgeon. He recounts his failures and successes, truly showing the reality of medicine.
Filled with technical language, raw emotion and the true experiences of Dr Gawande, “Complications” provides a clear, insightful view into what life is like for a surgeon. It exposes the messier, less scientific side of medicine, which shows just how unpredictable the human body can be and proves that although technology has advanced, we still have a long way to go. Surgeries are performed by humans. A doctor, who is also human, are imperfect. This book reveals the limitations not often talked about.
“As pervasive as medicine has become in modern life, it remains mostly hidden and often misunderstood. We have taken it to be both more perfect than it is and less extraordinary than it can be."
– Atul Gawande, ‘Complications’
Comments