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The Making of a Surgeon
The Making of a Surgeon is the memoir of an apprentice. It is William Nolen's story of his transformation from student to practitioner, from a brash medical school graduate to a surgeon possessing skill and judgment. And, as happens in the best memoirs, with his brilliant flash of self-discovery William Nolen illuminates the world outside himself.
First published in 1970, The Making of a Surgeon received critical acclaim and touched a world audience. The book's universal themes propelled it to the rarefied heights of a best seller. In this reprinted edition, with a foreword by the author's daughter, his classic returns.
First published in 1970, The Making of a Surgeon received critical acclaim and touched a world audience. The book's universal themes propelled it to the rarefied heights of a best seller. In this reprinted edition, with a foreword by the author's daughter, his classic returns.
269 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
June 3, 2015
I discuss the book here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Vdw_...
A great, easy-read on the intern and residency experiences of a surgeon in the US in the 1950s. He works at a hospital in a poor area and talks about the various challenges and routines found there. The author also discusses some of the management issues involved in hospitals; I found interesting the fact that hospitals need interns/residents as part of their regular operation, even if they are always temporary. Hospitals only have a few 'attending' doctors who visit in the morning and part of the afternoon, while interns half-asleep staff the entire day and night. Surgery is also seen as sometimes at odds with the medical doctor staff. I recommend this book (if you happen upon it in a used bookstore) for anyone who wants to know how the medical world works. Even though the book is a bit dated, you would be surprised how little has changed in medical education and practice. Just as in any profession, such as teaching and surgeons, the workers tend to resist change and stick to what has worked with regularity. And of course there is some wisdom in this, in prudence of practice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Vdw_...
A great, easy-read on the intern and residency experiences of a surgeon in the US in the 1950s. He works at a hospital in a poor area and talks about the various challenges and routines found there. The author also discusses some of the management issues involved in hospitals; I found interesting the fact that hospitals need interns/residents as part of their regular operation, even if they are always temporary. Hospitals only have a few 'attending' doctors who visit in the morning and part of the afternoon, while interns half-asleep staff the entire day and night. Surgery is also seen as sometimes at odds with the medical doctor staff. I recommend this book (if you happen upon it in a used bookstore) for anyone who wants to know how the medical world works. Even though the book is a bit dated, you would be surprised how little has changed in medical education and practice. Just as in any profession, such as teaching and surgeons, the workers tend to resist change and stick to what has worked with regularity. And of course there is some wisdom in this, in prudence of practice.
October 28, 2021
Would recommend to anyone interested in medicine. Very interesting account of a physician’s journey from internship through residency, even if it’s a bit outdated. Great bits of information and lessons embedded within the story.
January 10, 2016
I most definitely enjoyed this book and how it was written. It's more entertaining than some of the other medical memoirs I've read.
February 28, 2024
I loved this book so much for how candid and forthright Dr. Nolen could write about his experiences during his internship and residency. Reading this book felt like traveling back in time and witnessing firsthand what surgical training was like in the 1950s.
In today’s world, I can’t imagine the following sequence to get a hemoglobin level- running to the lab to find a clean pipette, heading back to the floors to finger stick a patient, sucking on the tube to draw enough blood (without getting any in my mouth) to reach the proper sample, and then running back to the lab to determine the value without help from a technician. As I click through the Orders tab on Epic now, I have a new appreciation for lab values!
One story that stuck with me was in the chapter “Heart Surgery, the Early Days,” when Dr. Nolen talks about driving to the pound in downtown Queens while wearing his white coat to pick up dogs that they would eventually bring to the morgue operating room to practice on for upcoming cardiac procedures. I’m familiar with pig labs, but this experience seems different in so many ways!
Overall, this book gave me a newfound appreciation for medicine and surgery as a career field, and I recommend it to anyone!
In today’s world, I can’t imagine the following sequence to get a hemoglobin level- running to the lab to find a clean pipette, heading back to the floors to finger stick a patient, sucking on the tube to draw enough blood (without getting any in my mouth) to reach the proper sample, and then running back to the lab to determine the value without help from a technician. As I click through the Orders tab on Epic now, I have a new appreciation for lab values!
One story that stuck with me was in the chapter “Heart Surgery, the Early Days,” when Dr. Nolen talks about driving to the pound in downtown Queens while wearing his white coat to pick up dogs that they would eventually bring to the morgue operating room to practice on for upcoming cardiac procedures. I’m familiar with pig labs, but this experience seems different in so many ways!
Overall, this book gave me a newfound appreciation for medicine and surgery as a career field, and I recommend it to anyone!
May 31, 2024
If you are fascinated about medicine and surgery like I am or are interested in a medical career this is a great book to read before med school. It is a practical and humorous read that helps you prepare for a future career.
November 12, 2022
While certainly a product of its time (Men were doctors and women were nurses), I found this book absolutely fascinating. Descriptions of surgeries were interesting but not horrifying. It was a very human look at the training and experience is required to create someone who could call himself a surgeon.
This is a well written biography about a time before chemotherapy and other non-surgical treatments were available to avoid surgical intervention.
This is a well written biography about a time before chemotherapy and other non-surgical treatments were available to avoid surgical intervention.
June 3, 2019
A dated yet immensely impactful perspective on the life of a surgeon. As I gather, Nolen's journey to surgical competency is his ultimate priority in life. It is this joie de vivre despite the utter shit show that is Bellvue that inspires me to consider a similar path to Nolen's. His comparison of "medical men" and surgeons is enlightening and inspires self-examination; am I hands-on, or would I be better off dealing with patients after they have been sealed back up. The chapter a lack of mutual respect is a beautiful depiction of two professions who could not survive without one and other but refuse to consider that the other specialist is more competent than they.
Some of my favorite elements of this book were Nolen's approachable prose and diction, he's a damn good writer. His moving anecdotes, e.g. when Sharon (one of the most competent nurses at Bellvue) gifted him a pair of shears with his name engraved. The story of his first appendectomy was also enlightening.
I found it interesting, at some points, how primitive care was in the late 60s. Nolen smoked indoors, the depiction of heart surgery in the novel seemed as though the author and his coworkers knew as little about operating on the heart as I. But at the same time, the fundamental skills which Nolen learns are enlightening.
This book is, I believe, an essential read for someone considering a career in medicine. It is basic enough for laymen, like myself, to understand most everything with the occasional exception - but despite this exception, the text is entirely readable without Google searching at every impasse, although this strategy does add an additional element to the novel.
Some of my favorite elements of this book were Nolen's approachable prose and diction, he's a damn good writer. His moving anecdotes, e.g. when Sharon (one of the most competent nurses at Bellvue) gifted him a pair of shears with his name engraved. The story of his first appendectomy was also enlightening.
I found it interesting, at some points, how primitive care was in the late 60s. Nolen smoked indoors, the depiction of heart surgery in the novel seemed as though the author and his coworkers knew as little about operating on the heart as I. But at the same time, the fundamental skills which Nolen learns are enlightening.
This book is, I believe, an essential read for someone considering a career in medicine. It is basic enough for laymen, like myself, to understand most everything with the occasional exception - but despite this exception, the text is entirely readable without Google searching at every impasse, although this strategy does add an additional element to the novel.
December 30, 2015
A diary of the first-year post-Doc Internship at a busy New York hospital. It sounds less like training and more like trial by compurgation. The 24-hour Emergency Room shift requirement scared New York into outlawing such mistake-inducing slave labor. But only to the extent of 24-hour On Call rules, or something like that. Still, though almost 50 years old, the book is a must read for prospective med students.
October 25, 2020
I am a surgical resident and I wish I read this book earlier. It is an amazing tale of the training of a surgeon in a busy public hospital in NYC during the 50s and 60s. Compared to surgical training today, so much is different and yet so much is the same. A fascinating read and a book I will recommend to every medical student interested in surgery.
March 26, 2020
I read this book shortly after it was published in the 70's. I trained as an RN, and I loved Bill Nolen's candor and ability to write so that all people, medical or non, could understand. I decided to re-read this book last week. Although very dated, it provides an insightful look at the world of a surgeon-in-training. Bill trained at Bellevue Hospital, and the issues there was as complex as anywhere. It was also startling to read about the lengthy hospitalizations surgical patients had in the late 60's compared to today. Cardiac surgery was a fairly new field. In many ways, we've come a long way. In another we haven't--we all want doctors as thorough and conscientious and Dr. Nolen was.
September 17, 2020
A superb, absorbing story of a surgeon, under training. I read this book first time long back, when I, myself, was a doctor/surgeon in the making. It had a great influence on me at that time. Now, when I am re-reading this book after almost 35-40 years later, it looks so interesting and inspiring. The wit and honesty of the narration makes you laugh and cry at the same time. The stories are informative, poignant and often funny. Dr Nolen has been very honest, forthright and unpretentious in telling the stories in the life of a training surgeon in a public hospital in NewYork. I enjoyed it immensely and will recommend it to everyone.
February 26, 2021
This is another one from way back that I remembered recently for some reason. It was very important to me at the time because of where I was in school. If I am remembering correctly, this is where I ran into the wonderful statement about the kinds of doctors there are- "internists know everything and do nothing; surgeons know nothing and do everything, and pathologists know everything and do everything, but too late."
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June 6, 2022Bardzo dobra książka! Ciężko mi ją jakkolwiek ocenić - w końcu to zbiór doświadczeń lekarza realizującego specjalizację chirurgiczną. Ciekawa, nie stroniła od opisów operacji, a jednak te nie były nużące czy niezrozumiałe. Ogromnie mi się podobała aż do ostatniej strony i na pewno zajmie w moim sercu ważne miejsce. Dzięki niej bardzo doceniam chirurgów.
April 28, 2019
Although an older book, it still gives a great idea about surgeon culture and how it developed over the decades. The book gives a raw, honest look into what it means and what it takes to become a surgeon.
March 31, 2024
Fascinating look at the residency program at Bellevue hospital in NYC during the 1950’s. Some of it is obviously dated, but much of what he says about people and the effect their socioeconomic status has on their medical care is still very valid today.
June 6, 2024
Yes, it was long long ago. But it could have been written on an IPhone. The grueling workload, the slow immersion from ivory tower to reality, the bosses, coworkers, friends, and families. Tense. Gripping. Incredible.
August 5, 2018
This book should be a must read for all residents going into any surgical specialty.
September 6, 2018
This book is very interesting
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 27, 2016
If you are going to have surgery soon you might want to skip this book. Surgeons do make mistakes. Nolen tells us that it is not a matter of some or even most surgeons making mistakes. It is a matter of all surgeons making mistakes and they make them most frequently if they are new surgeons. Understandably, they are not real prone to tell the patient about it either. There are a lot of things they do not tell the patient. It is very unlikely, for example, that a surgeon will tell the patient that this is the first time he has ever done this. Every surgeon has to perform surgery for the first time, but they are not likely to tell the patient that this is the first time. Furthermore, the most mistakes are made on the first surgery. If you have surgery and then find out that you are taking an unusually long time to recover and that complications keep popping up there is a good chance that you were operated on by a newbie. Reading this book can be downright scary.
November 5, 2012
I have to admit, I'm biased on this book. It was my mothers'. She was a nurse, and I'd stolen it off her bookshelf to read when I was too young to understand it fully. (I was always doing that with her medical books - it drove her crazy!)
The thing is, even though I didn't understand all of the medical jargon and situations, I got easily caught up in the excellent storytelling, and I could absolutely picture the hospital and the staff, and even fell in love with a few stories contained in the book.
As I grew older, I read it again with new eyes. What I like about this book is that it shows you that doctors, for all their wisdom and education, are people, too. Humans who have lives, good days, bad days, and what life is really like on the other side of the hospital room doors. It's an excellent read, and I highly recommend it.
The thing is, even though I didn't understand all of the medical jargon and situations, I got easily caught up in the excellent storytelling, and I could absolutely picture the hospital and the staff, and even fell in love with a few stories contained in the book.
As I grew older, I read it again with new eyes. What I like about this book is that it shows you that doctors, for all their wisdom and education, are people, too. Humans who have lives, good days, bad days, and what life is really like on the other side of the hospital room doors. It's an excellent read, and I highly recommend it.
December 4, 2011
I really liked this book. Even though it was heavily dated, it gave a good look at what a surgical intern goes through emotional, and physically in their journey to become a surgeon. I liked the author's writing style because it was very simple and very humble. It seemed like he didn't quite know how to write a book, but had a great story to tell and I loved that. It was a fairly comprehensive look at a career, I obviously have interest in. There were sentimental moments and funny moments and overall it was a great memoir. A very easy read, it's informative without the reader realizing they're learning things. Dr. Nolen has a very human approach to writing which added a certain charm to the book. again, he is very humble for a very accomplished man.
June 1, 2016
This was phenomenal!
It offered good insight into what surgical training was like in the 1950s, and how far the field has come since that time. It was amazing how many of the techniques described in the book have fallen out-of-vogue or would be considered frank malpractice today. My favorite vignette was about "staphylococcal diarrhea" cured with PO feces.
It was also a little depressing - as a general surgeon, Dr. Nolen achieved a level of expertise across multiple different specialties that would be impossible for any general surgeon training today. Surgical subspecialties were just starting to take off, and the scope of practice for a generalist was orders of magnitude higher than it would be for me if I were going into surgery.
It offered good insight into what surgical training was like in the 1950s, and how far the field has come since that time. It was amazing how many of the techniques described in the book have fallen out-of-vogue or would be considered frank malpractice today. My favorite vignette was about "staphylococcal diarrhea" cured with PO feces.
It was also a little depressing - as a general surgeon, Dr. Nolen achieved a level of expertise across multiple different specialties that would be impossible for any general surgeon training today. Surgical subspecialties were just starting to take off, and the scope of practice for a generalist was orders of magnitude higher than it would be for me if I were going into surgery.
May 15, 2010
This book is the autobiography of William A. Nolan, and his struggle through medical school at the Bellevue public hospital in New York. This book is extremely funny as well as informative of the process of becoming a doctor. He explores the challenges and joys of working in a hospital, as well as the emotional strain he experienced. I would recommend this book to anyone who is even remotely interested in medicine, but especially to anyone who is seriously considering becoming a doctor/ surgeon.
December 19, 2020
Just re-read this after pulling some golden oldies off the shelf in my closet. As stated by others - it is very dated but very good. (Gallbladder removal patients spent at least five days in the hospital. Now those surgeries are outpatient.) Nolan has a casual way of writing that pulls the reader in. And he is self-deprecating, rather than self-exalting, which is always appreciated in a first-person account. I enjoyed re-reading this work of nonfiction.
May 5, 2008
Dr. Nolen did his medical training in the 1960s at New York's Bellevue Hospital, so the book is a bit dated. He tells many poignant and infuriating anecdotes about his patients. He eventually became a cardiovascular surgeon. When I read books like this, I always come away with a little more appreciation for the time and effort good doctors give to become artisans of their craft.
June 4, 2011
The one book that truly changed my life. It convinced me that I just didn't have what it took to become a surgeon so . . . at the "tender young age" of 12 I decided to be a trial lawyer instead. I'm glad I did. Thanks, Dr. Nolen for literally saving my life.
April 28, 2008
I read this book one summer while I was in college and scenes from it have stayed with me all these years.
April 20, 2009
A truly wonderful and heartfealt book on becoming a surgeon. Old fashioned medicine and a wise and humanistic perspective. A classic!
February 9, 2010
This got me going ... then I went for the whole magilla
September 3, 2010
I really enjoyed all of his writing. My husband could only wait for a new one by this nonfiction author who wrote as if he was talking to you.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews