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Doc: True Tales of Mishaps, Emergencies, and Miracles from a Montana Physician
The four hundred townspeople of Ennis, Montana needed a doctor and Ronald E. Losee, MD, became "Doc." Learning from his failures and rejoicing in his triumphs, he performed appendectomies on a rickety operating-room table, repaired fractured tibiae, and even amputated a leg with a hacksaw. After a two year stint at t he Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, Losee returned to Montana to begin the pioneering work that gained him an international reputation. This moving account of his time there evokes both the feel of small-town life and the pioneering spirit of the West.
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
September 10, 2016
This is a delightful memoir of a rural physician in Montana. The book opens with Losee attending Yale University Medical School during World War II. The class was being pushed through because of the great need for physicians for the War. In 1946 he and his wife moved to Denver for his residence training. They decided they wanted to live in the west so after he completed his training and he was discharged from the Army they drove around the west looking for a place to set up his practice. They eventually landed in Ennis, Montana. After a few years doing family practice, Losee decided he needed more training in orthopedics. He did a two-year orthopedic specialty training at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal. They returned to Ennis where he continued to practice until his retirement. Losee developed an operative technique for the knee that is in common use today. You will need to read the book to discover what it is.
The book is well written and full of tales about the people of Montana and the various medical problems encountered in a rural practice. Near the end of the book I enjoyed the poems written by a local nurse about “DOC” and the little hospital. The book also provided a glimpse of how medicine has changed over the years, not only medical techniques but the business aspects and the interaction between physician and patient.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. Rick Adamson did a good job narrating the book. Adamson is a voiceover artist and a 2011 Audie Award winning audiobook narrator for non-fiction.
The book is well written and full of tales about the people of Montana and the various medical problems encountered in a rural practice. Near the end of the book I enjoyed the poems written by a local nurse about “DOC” and the little hospital. The book also provided a glimpse of how medicine has changed over the years, not only medical techniques but the business aspects and the interaction between physician and patient.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. Rick Adamson did a good job narrating the book. Adamson is a voiceover artist and a 2011 Audie Award winning audiobook narrator for non-fiction.
January 6, 2018
I have just finished this book, found on the shelves at my Dad's house. I enjoyed it a lot and hated to finish it because of the picture Losee gives of his life in a tiny Montana town near where my family lived for a couple of years when my
father began his own medical career. Losee and his wife Olive do whatever needs to be done to provide medical care in this out of the way spot, and their family thrives, works incredibly hard and has fun (which includes fishing and playing the bagpipes!). I like his description and love for Butte, Montana, which was the nearest "big city" with a population in the mid thirty thousands. He includes lots of detail about medical procedures, too much for me, but which would be more appreciated by medical professionals. He reminds me in some ways of my dad, hard working, conscientious, caring and immensely energetic.
father began his own medical career. Losee and his wife Olive do whatever needs to be done to provide medical care in this out of the way spot, and their family thrives, works incredibly hard and has fun (which includes fishing and playing the bagpipes!). I like his description and love for Butte, Montana, which was the nearest "big city" with a population in the mid thirty thousands. He includes lots of detail about medical procedures, too much for me, but which would be more appreciated by medical professionals. He reminds me in some ways of my dad, hard working, conscientious, caring and immensely energetic.
December 28, 2025
Great book, interesting history of medical practice in Montana. Family life, how things have changed. It’s an interesting read. I’m not familiar with Montana. That doesn’t make it any less interesting. Some interesting events and practices. How people survived through some of those events and how life was so much more difficult. Very much a survival of the fittest. Every thing from birth death. Any and every event and illness in between. All while raising a family. Family life and relationships with each other, family, friends and the locals/ patients. This book has it all. Insight and knowledge. Some medical terminology that for a non medical person is a little testing to figure out what body part is being discussed. However it is well worth the read for anyone interested in medical or life experience of others.
November 16, 2022
Ron Losee graduated for Yale Medical School in 1949. He left there and went West to Ennis, Montana; with his wife Olive and two years old daughter.
His patients were quite a cast of characters, ranchers, miners, migrant workers and many older people.
His quest for knowledge lead him to a two year study at Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal Canada where he studied Orthopedics.
Back in Montana he does his best to treat people with very little and crude equipment.
He had many successful years being DOC in Ennis Montana and still lives there.
His patients were quite a cast of characters, ranchers, miners, migrant workers and many older people.
His quest for knowledge lead him to a two year study at Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal Canada where he studied Orthopedics.
Back in Montana he does his best to treat people with very little and crude equipment.
He had many successful years being DOC in Ennis Montana and still lives there.
December 17, 2018
Medical story
Medical Story
This is an intriguimg story about medic I need and medical carre in the middle of the last century. I didn't realize that it had changed so much money n a period which I re member
I
Medical Story
This is an intriguimg story about medic I need and medical carre in the middle of the last century. I didn't realize that it had changed so much money n a period which I re member
I
February 18, 2019
Medical history in small town America
Great stories of doctoring from old days to new in a small Montana town by a smart and caring physician.
Great stories of doctoring from old days to new in a small Montana town by a smart and caring physician.
October 31, 2019
I just loved it!
I feel the Doc and his colleagues and neighbors in Zennie, Montana have become friends now... what an unfiltered honest look at practicing rural medicine!
I feel the Doc and his colleagues and neighbors in Zennie, Montana have become friends now... what an unfiltered honest look at practicing rural medicine!
January 7, 2024
Damn good Doc
This story was about sincere people who want to help others and had a sense of adventure. Hard to do on a dime. Enjoy this read.
This story was about sincere people who want to help others and had a sense of adventure. Hard to do on a dime. Enjoy this read.
January 16, 2024
Terrible editing. Misspellings, numbers substituted for letters, etc. made reading very aggravating. Interesting low key book.
January 18, 2024
Very interesting! The author started out as a young doctor with very little money to start his practice and basically had to “ mcgyver” everything. It would make a very good t.v. series.
January 12, 2025
A little over my head with medical knowledge, but some of the stories were amazing!
January 13, 2025
Started out good but got too technical about surgery on the knees.
June 3, 2017
THE DOC WAS LARGER THAN LIFE ... Dr. Ron Losee’s memoir describes the amazing life of this country doctor in the tiny town of Ennis in Southwest Montana (population 700). Living in this same area, I am privileged to have known this unique man. The “Doc,” as he was affectionately known in our tiny town, died on May 14, 2017, at age 97. He was familiar to and beloved by everyone who has lived for any length of time in the Madison Valley. I am so happy that he left us with this wonderful book about his life here.
Doc drove his jeep in the 4th of July Parade in Ennis every year until two years ago. He had a friend drive last year, and he rode in the passenger seat. The jeep is the same one he drove here in 1949.
After his wife Olive died and he finally retired, he would eat breakfast in the pharmacy’s café every morning, and if I came in and saw he was alone, I always asked him if I could join him. He was quite gregarious and always said something like “Of course you may, young man – I would love that.”
The pharmacy always kept a small stock of his books, and they would sometimes bring a stack to his table for him to autograph while he was waiting for his breakfast. He would almost always order the same thing – eggs with biscuits and gravy.
One day at about 11:00 AM a tourist family came in and asked if they could get breakfast. The waitress said, “No, we are not serving breakfast now – only lunch.” The dad persisted and asked if he couldn’t just get a little bowl of oatmeal, and she again told him that would not be possible. One of my neighbors was sitting in the next booth and listened to this. A few minutes later, Doc came in and sat down. The waitress ran right over to his booth and took his order of eggs with biscuits and gravy. When his food came, she stayed at the table and cut his biscuits up for him. The tourist watched all this as they ate their lunch. 😊
Everyone in Ennis knew and loved Doc. - David B. Crawley, M.D. – Author of "Steep Turn: A Physician's Journey from Clinic to Cockpit."
Doc drove his jeep in the 4th of July Parade in Ennis every year until two years ago. He had a friend drive last year, and he rode in the passenger seat. The jeep is the same one he drove here in 1949.
After his wife Olive died and he finally retired, he would eat breakfast in the pharmacy’s café every morning, and if I came in and saw he was alone, I always asked him if I could join him. He was quite gregarious and always said something like “Of course you may, young man – I would love that.”
The pharmacy always kept a small stock of his books, and they would sometimes bring a stack to his table for him to autograph while he was waiting for his breakfast. He would almost always order the same thing – eggs with biscuits and gravy.
One day at about 11:00 AM a tourist family came in and asked if they could get breakfast. The waitress said, “No, we are not serving breakfast now – only lunch.” The dad persisted and asked if he couldn’t just get a little bowl of oatmeal, and she again told him that would not be possible. One of my neighbors was sitting in the next booth and listened to this. A few minutes later, Doc came in and sat down. The waitress ran right over to his booth and took his order of eggs with biscuits and gravy. When his food came, she stayed at the table and cut his biscuits up for him. The tourist watched all this as they ate their lunch. 😊
Everyone in Ennis knew and loved Doc. - David B. Crawley, M.D. – Author of "Steep Turn: A Physician's Journey from Clinic to Cockpit."
December 18, 2022
Pleasant, easy - but rambling- memoir of a small time physician in rural Montana during the middle of the twentieth century. “Doctoring” has changed a lot in 70 years, although the changes were starting by the time this book ends. (his malpractice insurance went from about $50 bucks a year to $30,000, even without a claim against him…)
Dr. Losee started as a GP, but because interested in orthopedic surgery and gradually shifted his practice in that direction (another move that would be unlikely today due to training requirements).
The book is conversational in tone, and the anecdotes are often, but not always, amusing, with a few minor rants. There’s not a lot of continuity in the writing, it’s mostly anecdotes.
Dr. Losee started as a GP, but because interested in orthopedic surgery and gradually shifted his practice in that direction (another move that would be unlikely today due to training requirements).
The book is conversational in tone, and the anecdotes are often, but not always, amusing, with a few minor rants. There’s not a lot of continuity in the writing, it’s mostly anecdotes.
February 23, 2015
Unbelievable but true! A doctor who switched out a destitute parents' tires with his own so they could drive their daughter to a specialist across the state. Who responded to a request from a newly delivered mom for a cold beer by walking down the street to buy a 6 pack. Who developed an innovative cure for trick knee because he took the time to ponder 'why' instead of accepting dogma. And who was paid so little he could not afford malpractice insurance ...
April 24, 2013
A guided tour through the process of a country doctor meeting most kinds of life's medical challenges in back-woodsie Ennis, Montana, and ending up a recognized authority on knee surgery. Entertaining and educational.
March 21, 2008
Poorly written, but medically interesting.
August 2, 2011
A lovely story about a physician working in Ennis, Montana.
The book attracts the reader all the time.
The book attracts the reader all the time.
September 13, 2012
Not great writing, but great stories for the medically-inclined, for adventurers, and for lovers of the American West.
January 1, 2014
I was encouraged by this book because Doc's new method of knee surgery was not accepted immediately, but he persevered and he was eventually recognized for his medical break-through.
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July 8, 2014very interesting about a country doctor in the 1950s to present in Montana.. so different than medicine today
June 7, 2009
Kind of a homey memoir of a physician's life and practice.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews