Solo practice: A woman surgeon's story

by Elizabeth Morgan

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

294 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[CatReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Elizabeth Morgan is an American plastic surgeon. Her 1982 memoir Solo Practice follows from her 1980 memoir, The Making of a Woman Surgeon, and covers her first few years in solo private practice as an attending physician in the Washington, DC area in the late 1970s. As one would expect of that era of medicine (pre-electronic medical records, pre-modern internet, pre-hospitalists taking care of hospitalized patients, the chauvinistic attitudes toward female healthcare providers one would expect of that era), Dr. Morgan's first few years in practice were quite challenging, and she made a lot of unsustainable choices before ultimately establishing a sustainable comfort zone. As a fellow female physician, I love these career memoirs and always take away from them a genuine appreciation for practicing medicine now vs. 50 years ago.

I will note that I Googled Dr. Morgan while reading this book and realized she's also the namesake of the 1989 Elizabeth Morgan act which has since been struck down, and the subject matter of the 1992 television film A Mother's Right: The Elizabeth Morgan story. These events aren't covered in this memoir (and I wonder if she will eventually tell this story in memoir form), though several of Dr. Morgan's ill-advised prior romantic relationships are.

My statistics:
Book 158 for 2025
Book 2084 cumulatively

[Kendra]

Section A-1