The business of medicine is a complex mix of thorns and roses – where the reality of profit-driven priorities from corporations and insurance companies clashes with the compassion of clinicians providing care at great personal cost.
Through the perspectives of patients, physicians, clinicians, medical students, and nurses, The Making of a Doctor highlights the challenges faced by both patients and healthcare providers. This collection of essays uncovers pivotal moments– from the denial of essential medical care by insurance companies to the emotional toll that this work has had on clinicians, some of whom have considered leaving medicine due to the pressures they face – to demonstrate the dire state of our medical systems.
The Making of a Doctor sheds light on the harmful impact of a system that prioritizes profits over people, exposing the widespread issues of patient neglect and clinician burnout seen in healthcare systems around the world. Despite these challenges, the collection also points to a path forward – offering solutions for reform and a sustainable approach to providing medical care that places humanity at the centre of the practice.
Introduction
Part One: Medical Training
1. Personal Statement
2. This Is What Is Ahead
3. Learning Curve
4. What Is Considered Most Significant
5. Ballet Lessons
6. How Easy Girls Have It
7. Prescriptions Per Your Insurance Company
8. Lessons Learned in Intern Year
9. Another Wellness Lecture
10. The Worth of a Life
Part Two: Patient Care
11. Specialty Selection
12. The Notes in the Margins
13. Emergencies According to Hospital Policies
14. Looking for Shoulders
15. Floriography
16. More Than a Little Sound
17. The Cat Admitted to Medicine
18. More Than Medications and Procedures
19. The Social Skills of a Socially Awkward Physician
20. Bedside Manner
Part Three: Mental Health
21. This Is Why
22. Patients and Clinicians in Battle
23. Societal Expectations
24. Look Closely
25. What It Really Feels Like
26. The Constant Threat
27. Attitude Adjustment
28. On Communication
29. The Last Minute Before Suicide
30. Lifting the Illusion
Part Four: The Pandemic
31. Preventive Medicine
32. Masking Battles
33. The Cracks in the System
34. Girl Turned Contaminant
35. The Pain Scale
36. When Social Media Turns Viral
37. In Response to Clinicians Threatened for Offering Vaccines
38. State of the Union Address
39. What My Patients Taught Me
40. Planning for the Next Pandemic
Part Five: Moving Forward
41. To Those Who Consider Medicine a Profitable Business
42. Fight and Flight
43. Much Stronger Than They Realize
44. Modern Art
45. For Profit in Residency Education
46. Suicide Match
47. Reminders for Days of Fire
48. On the Labels We Carry
49. Words of Advice
50. Enough
Height:216
Width:140
Spine:25
Weight:1.00