On Call: A Rural Surgeon's Story

by J. Lottmann MD

On Call is an autobiography of J. Lottman, a female surgeon that she hopes will inspire other male and female surgeons to consider becoming rural surgeons. There aren’t many rural surgeons around, making this an uncommon autobiography and practice. It spans a thirty-year practice from 1981 to 2011, after her schooling and training. Dr. Lottmann explains the distinctiveness of a rural surgery practice and how it differs from an urban practice. She explains the scope of general surgery and her surgical caseload changes over those thirty years. Advanced surgical techniques for rural surgeons have significantly changed since she began her career. Although there has been significant medical advancement, a rural surgeon can find it challenging to offer the most up-to-date procedures in a small rural hospital due to the cost of the equipment. On Call will take you through Dr. Lottman’s training, practice, and some of her most memorable cases, challenges, and triumphs. She also shares the unique challenges of female surgeons as they navigate marriage and motherhood and being a surgeon—frequently, the only one in town. Dr. Lottmann hopes her autobiography will encourage medical students to pursue a career in rural surgery because there is a great need for them in this country.

188 pages, Paperback

First published October 27, 2014

Reviews

[Larry F. Sommers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Judy Lottmann delivers an accurate and unvarnished memoir of thirty years as a general surgeon—only the second female general surgeon licensed in the State of Wisconsin.
Readers who are not squeamish will be fascinated by detailed descriptions of operations, common and not-so-common, that she performed for residents in and near Sparta, Wisconsin. Some of the procedures sound rather old-fashioned, due to the rapid pace of medical innovation, even though the period, 1981-2011, is not long ago.
Besides dramatic operating room accounts, Lottman tells of her girlhood on a Minnesota dairy farm, the rigorous course of her medical and surgical education, hospital politics, community service, and the challenges of family life and medical ethics for a person of strong religious faith.
Without being stylish as a literary work, On Call has plenty of what most readers value—authenticity. Every bit of it is real and straight from the surgeon’s mouth. A worthwhile read.

[Patricia Franklin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!