Surgeons Do Not Cry

by Ting Tiongco

"The stories of an institution like the University of the Philippines—Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) are timeless. But as it is often said nothing ever really happened unless it is written down. There are so many stories to tell of the agonies and triumphs of both doctors and patients, who have peopled this venerable institution through the ages. I wrote the stories because I firmly believe that healing is a mutual process; that the healer is very often himself healed as he goes about caring for the ailing person. So the stories bite both ways.”

Genres: Medicine, Nonfiction

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Alexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Whereas the present dominant world looks at disease as a personal event, the Filipino looks at the disease as a social event."
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I began reading this book around the first few weeks of entering med school, but predictably, med school is a jealous lover, and I never had the time to finish it until now. It's probably for the best. Dr. Tiongco's stories are entertaining and interesting, but I appreciated them more now that I've got one foot in the door to the wonderful, mad world of medicine. I needed something to remind me of my 'why,' the reason that I am making myself go through endless hours of studying (something I'll do for the rest of my life, I'm sure), and Dr. Tiongco's stories of everyday Filipinos and his musings about the state of health in the country gave that to me. Even though these stories are decades old, unfortunately they are still happening today, and will still happen in the future if nothing changes. This book taught me to avoid the mindset of "What for?", instead changing it to "Why not?" and keeping it at that. A++++

[Fantaghiro23 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book because when I started browsing through it, I came across this short chapter about a guy who was in the ER for a broken penis. Literally. And it made me laugh, especially because the author told it so matter-of-factly. So I read from the beginning, and found that most of the chapters in this book did make me laugh. And a few made me want to cry. But all of the book's short chapters impressed me with Ting Tiongco's clarity of writing and vision about the goals of a top medical school in a third-world country.

This book is a serendipitous discovery and is seriously one of my best reads this year.

[Beatrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surgeons Do Not Cry by Dr. Ting Tiongco is a greatly written memoir about his journey of becoming a surgeon in the Philippines. I dreamed about of becoming an operating room nurse because every surgical case looks interesting but I am lead into a different unit which I ended up loving.

Dr. Tiongco's fascinating narrative made me enjoy this book. He's straight-forward on sharing his journey of hardships, triumphs and low moments. One must have a thick skin undergoing residency and he proved it. He isn't a perfect doctor, he also had silly moments but with a lot of experience of training in PGH (Philippine General Hospital), he had proven a lot. It was a tough journey knowing healthcare workers are overworked and underpaid. What an experience to read it. A 10 year journey of studying medicine and residency is sure hell of a ride.

[Sidney · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐. Took me a while to get used to Dr. Tiongco's straightforward writing, sprinkled with flashes of utter bluntness. Nonetheless, his narrative as an Ateneo native but UP-trained doctor was one rooted in the complex realities of the health problems of the country, thus making this book a memoir and a social commentary rolled into one. (ngl almost teared up in certain chapters)

[Rainier Moreno-Lacalle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, well-written, clear, and suffused with many lessons not only for doctors but for nurses and other health workers. While reading the book, my heartbeat is rising and I can picture inside my head what is happening in the instance. My favorite part is with the psyche patient still makes me laugh. Good job Sir!

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was given to me as a gift by a friend during my eighteenth birthday and all I can say is wow. It's a nice memoir that further inspires me to pursue the medical field.

[klerrr0r.404 | ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book single-handedly motivated me to do my best in education. Every course of action I’ve taken pale in comparison to the drive this book had given me. It is not easy to become a doctor nor just anyone can become one. Doctors carry themselves with pride because they themselves know what they had gone through to deserve the title. The hours they dedicated in the art and science of medicine provided the foundation for their confidence. It isn’t baseless after all. However, this does not also give them an excuse to be arrogant like the doctors who were the subjects of Dr. Ronnie and Dr. Ting’s recounts. I have admired doctors since I was told they saved my life - literally bringing me back from the brink of death and snatching the life of a month old girl from Death’s hands. They’re awesome. I believe that wholeheartedly. I want to become like them. I still believe in that. The words in this book etched into my mind. Medicine is hard, and knowing that makes me evaluate myself if I could ever become one. Just how far would I go to satisfy this wanting?

[Trishia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good break from my list of fiction and poems. Some stories are good pieces for Creative Writing and Non-Fiction Classes. Though I am not a medical practitioner, I enjoyed the book's episodic and non-linear style (which helps with my short attention span). These essays are carefully arranged to hook the reader.

“Surgeons Do Not Cry” presents juxtaposition in a heart-warming manner. It is a literary device that notes contradicting ideas or situations.
• Borders – Patient who felt relieved about not getting operated because at least he can stay longer in PGH for free meals.
•. Tears of Anger, Tears of Joy – Tiongco was relieved the patient was alive, but the wife will continue to face abuse.
•. Hero – Three brothers. One lost a patient, while the other lost a case. The last one won a business deal.

Towards the end of the book, he emphasized the love for our country. Tiongco is an interesting person. I wish he also talked about his life as a doctor in Mindanao.

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely. Finished it very quickly. I'm not a product of PGH, but I've heard some anecdotes from friends and colleagues, so I thought I'd be prepared for what I would read in the book. Boy was I wrong! A lot of the author's stories were shocking, heart-wrenching, and one was so messed-up, it was almost unbelievable (I was afraid I'd get nightmares after that chapter). Anyway, upon turning the last page, I immediately handed the book to my husband, as he is a UP pre-med and med graduate. However, he took his residency in the States, so I thought he'd appreciate a look at what his life could have been had he stayed here. (Methinks he'd thank his lucky stars that he'd decided to do his training elsewhere. 😅)

[Gab of Green Gables · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book expanded my knowledge on the Philippine health care system. This also has essays on Doc Ting’s 10 year journey on being a doctor and surgeon.

There are stories of:

Doc Ting’s dealing with his first death of a patient

Launching of a walking blood bank program among UP College of Medicine students

Doc Ting's experience in the psychiatry department which he least liked

A bonfire event by the interns of UPCM where they air our their frustrations on professors for fun

Doc Ting’s first time losing a patient on his operating table

I liked Doc Ting’s message on being a doctor that trascends his duty of giving treatment to patients by also treating the diseases of the community.

Full review coming soon!

[JD · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a while to get used to Dr. Ting’s tone - it was feisty, mischievous, and unafraid. I was used to the meek and gentle doctors who resorted to writing to express their emotions having read five books penned by their kind. But eventually, as I peeled through the pages of this book, I have learned to appreciate and admire Dr. Ting’s fighting spirit and his heart for his countrymen.

I enjoyed reading this book. I marvel at the doctors who went through the pagod, gutom, at hirap that is the PGH and wonder if things had changed for the better today not only for the hospital staff but also for the patients, 50 years later since Dr. Ting’s graduation from UPCM.

[Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of anecdotes/stories/essays of the author when he was a student and then a surgeon at UP-PGH is an interesting read on how noble the practice of medicine is and how pitiful is our healthcare system. The writer tells of hilarious and sad case histories of patients, his first DOT (dead on the table or those patients who die on the operating table), his adventures as an idealistic medical student, and his growing sadness on the state of PGH and the public health system of the Philippines in general.

[Xienna Mari · Rating 4 out of 5]

I write this review, privileged to have shelter from Typhoon Uwan, as a YL6 student from the ASMPH and a UP Baguio alumna who has just seen report after report of the government’s incompetence in dealing with Typhoon Tino. Also having read Doc Baticulon’s Some Days You Can’t Save Them All, we need to acknowledge and address both the side of the government in their lack of support for the healthcare system and its constituents, and the mindset of aspiring Filipino doctors who are so very eager to serve white men.

[ela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is superb; it isn't very timely since it was published in 2008. However, the bits of knowledge coming from the book can be learned from and applied to our lives. It just does not talk about being a doctor in the Philippines. Besides, it discusses being a citizen, a friend, a patient, and just being a person.

[marga · Rating 4 out of 5]

another book about a doctor's journey in medical school! this was very similar to 'some days you can't save them all', but this book specifically highlights medicine before and during the marcos regime.

this book was so well-written and i personally found dr. tiongco's journey so interesting. would definitely recommend!

[Nicole Lim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indeed, truth is stranger than fiction.

[Aby C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

(I could only imagine the COVID stories of our Filipino doctors.)

[Karen Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a profound experience reading through Tiongco's experiences as a student then as a Surgery resident in PGH.

[Rod Barit · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must-read book for Filipino doctors - and those looking to become one.

[Gayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

this would make u want to serve your country, the community. :)

[Niko Lavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books - if not the best - that I have read this year. Will keep this in my shelf.

[Mat Loria · Rating 4 out of 5]

pinoy grey's anatomy ft. martial law

[Jose Carlo Valencia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr Tiongo had set the bar high for Filipino Creative (Medical) Non-fiction.

[Jods · Rating 4 out of 5]

"MAKIBAKA!"

What the fuck! It's one of the best books I've read. A MUST READ

[Eirra Manuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

the stories are superb para akong nagbabasa ng medical drama. Dr. Ting Tiongco i will never forget you, UP-PGH will for sure never forget you 👏

[Ausbert Generoso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a surgeon. So, I did cry.

[Krizyl Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 ❤️

[Jinzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Angelica Claire Florida · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some uncompleted draft book review from my twitter last 2023:

Dr. Tiongco is so inspiring.

When thinking about the reason why I want to become a doctor, I am sometimes distracted by the blinding lights of fortune it promises in the long haul, all while I am helping people through a thing I believe I am passionate about.

But by reading this book, I am reminded that healthcare in the Philippines is far from the cool-med-solving-cases and grinning fortune past the huge student loans that it has, as often depicted on mainstream media.

At the author's time, UPCM, the country's premier medical school, was teaching through Americanized perceptions of medicinal education. These focused merely on the study of the cell, enzymes, processes, body parts, and the disease.

All while crucial to their education, these were bulletless pistols on the battle ground they were set to face in -- the PGH Grounds, which was and still is the nation's medical forefront on the healthcare needs of the Filipino masses.

As the medical forefront,...(for some reason I wasn't able to finish this part of the thread)

Yes, they knew how to determine and diagnose the situations they were faced to in their shifts, but they weren't prepared for what's about to come.

Past the study of body and the disease, PH Healthcare should include the rationale of the following why's:

> Why do PH hospitals accomodate more than what they can?(??wording doesnt sound nice)
> Why are healthcare professionals in the PH underpaid?(??seconded, wording also kinda doesnt sound nice)
> Why do healthcare professionals opt to leave the country for better pay after being trained in their homecountry which has a shortage of competent doctors?(??)

Maybe I should've chosen Public Health as a premed instead, sige nalang 😭

[the views and opinions of the host last 2023 (which still seem to have some loose threads around the edges sjbdjd; in short, naalala na ang deadlines that week 😂) do not fully reflect her views and opinions now at 2025

- I think I wasn't able to finish this draft review since I immediately sprung unto the next PH med book I had (SDYCSTA), and it may have provided me a slightly different, more modern approach to seeing the PH healthcare system. And, I am yet to recall those insights (i should prob reread these again)]