As we all know, doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals are in the frontlines of the coronavirus battle and doing their utmost to heal the sick and save lives. In the process, they are exposing themselves to tremendous risk, and many are separating themselves from their families for weeks to avoid transmitting the virus to them.
Below are a few titles that give some insight into the world of doctors , how they are made, and the incredible challenges and rewards of their day to day practice. All are available as ebooks on Overdrive/Libby.
Answering the Call: The Doctor Who Made Africa His Life: The Remarkable Story of Albert Schweitzer by Ken Gire
Ken Gire’s page-turning,novelesque narrative sheds new light on Schweitzer’s faith-in-action ethic and his commitment to honor God by celebrating the sacredness of all life. The legacy of this 1952 NobelPrize honoree endures in the thriving African hospital community that began in a humble chicken coop, in the millions who have drawn inspiration from his example, and in the challenge that emanates from his life story into our day.
Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance by Atul Gawande
Gawande explores how doctors strive to close the gap between best intentions and best performance in the face of obstacles that sometimes seem insurmountable. The gripping stories of diligence, ingenuity, and what it means to do right by people take us to battlefield surgical tents in Iraq, to labor and delivery rooms in Boston, to a polio outbreak in India, and to malpractice courtrooms around the country.
Doctored: The Disillusionment of an American Physician by Sandeep Jauhar & Patrick
Lawlor
Jauhar chronicles the formative years of his residency while observing firsthand the crisis of American medicine through the eyes of a cardiologist.
Healing Children: A Surgeon’s Stories from the Frontiers of Pediatric Medicine by Kurt Newman, M.D.
Through the story of his own career and of the brave kids he has treated over the years—and their equally brave and tenacious parents—Newman reveals the revolution that is taking place in pediatric medicine.
The House of God by Samuel Shem & John Updike
By turns heartbreaking, hilarious, and utterly human, The House of God is a mesmerizing and provocative novel about what it really takes to become a doctor.
The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly: A Physician’s First Year by Matt McCarthy
A scorchingly frank look at how doctors are made, bringing readers into the critical care unit to see one burgeoning physician’s journey from ineptitude to competence.
The Strange Case of Dr. Couney How a Mysterious European Showman Saved Thousands of American Babies by Dawn Raffel
This is the spellbinding tale of a mysterious Coney Island doctor who revolutionized neonatal care more than one hundred years ago and saved some seven thousand babies
Thank you doctors and all health care workers for your brave and selfless service.
You are our real heroes!
-Archana, Adult Services & Acquisitions Librarian