TY - JOUR
AU - Nicholson, G
AB - This is the second offering from surgeon and best-selling author Atul Gawande. It follows his superb book Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science. The case report style of Better is broadly similar to Complications although there are fewer examples grouped into more parts. The book is reminiscent of Oliver Sacks' famous clinical tales, though Gawande draws from the wider scope of medicine, rather than remaining confined to his own subject. Better explores hot topics such as hand-washing, infection and malpractice. It also delves into the moral maze of ethics in executions. Gawande manages to express his ideas in thoughtful, colourful and very readable prose. He presents interesting moral questions throughout. One of the strengths of the book is its lack of medical jargon and subsequent appeal to lay readers. This does not detract from his points being meaningful to doctors. His examples provide particularly profound musings on many aspects of his varied and interesting surgical career. Such is their scope though, that they remain apposite to many professions. There are many thought-provoking ideas; however, some of his “suggestions for becoming a positive deviant” are rather common-sensical rather than radical or original. It does us no harm, though, to be reminded of these tenets from time to time. Overall, an insightful book using pertinent examples. It leaves the reader with the motivation to look at his practice through new eyes. Copyright © 2009 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model) Copyright © 2009 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
TI - Better. A Surgeon's Notes on Performance A. Gawande 140 × 210 mm. Pp 288. 2007. Metropolitan Books: New York. $24·00
JF - British Journal of Surgery
DO - 10.1002/bjs.6596
DA - 2009-05-11
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/oxford-university-press/better-a-surgeon-s-notes-on-performance-a-gawande-140-210-mm-pp-288-B0cc8naXRk
SP - 694
EP - 694
VL - 96
IS - 6
DP - DeepDyve
ER -