A Life in Medicine: A Literary Anthology

by Randy-Michael Testa (Editor), Robert Coles (Editor), Penny Armstrong

“Excellent” poetry and prose about physicians and their patients, by Raymond Carver, Kay Redfield Jamison, Rachel Naomi Remen, and more ( Library Journal ).
 
A Life in Medicine  collects stories, poems, and essays by and for those in the healing profession, who are struggling to keep up with the science while staying true to the humanitarian goals at the heart of their work. Organized around the central themes of altruism, knowledge, skill, and duty, the book includes contributions from well-known authors, doctors, nurses, practitioners, and patients. Provocative and moving pieces address what it means to care for a life in a century of unprecedented scientific advances, examining issues of hope and healing from both ends of the stethoscope.
 
“An anthology of lasting appeal to those interested in medicine, well-written literature, and a sympathetic understanding of human life.” ― Booklist

Genres: Medicine, Medical, Nonfiction, Poetry, Essays, Short Stories, Science

352 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2002

Reviews

[Jeff Wong · Rating 5 out of 5]

The editors' selections of literature and poetry for inclusion in this volume is really compelling. While I really enjoyed all of them, a couple of items stood out. Terry Tempest Williams' "The Village Watchman" causes one to reflect on what it means to be "normal". Mikhail Bulgakov's "Baptism by Rotation" strikes directly to the heart of a young practitioner encountering something beyond his expertise but doing "the best he can" and taking full advantage of what resources he does have -- an important lesson for all practitioners in medicine. David Hilfiker's "Not all of us are Saints" speaks to the necessity of health care providers to understand and to try to impact the Health Care Systems in which their patients are living -- treating the patient with the disease is very often insufficient without addressing the ill of the system. Many well known favorites are also included. I would strongly recommend this anthology for ALL practitioners of medicine -- there are pearls to be learned with every entry.

[Geoffrey Zamboni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done and outlines the pitfalls and the things that make this profession incredibly rewarding.

[Nathan Douthit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read, and definitely alerted me to some authors I would love to read further. Worth picking up if you are engaged in the healthcare profession in any way.

[A. Ivana · Rating 3 out of 5]

A particular blue

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly compelling stories.

[Constance Chevalier · Rating 3 out of 5]

several great stories; lots of interesting info about the profession.

[Stacie Nishimoto · Rating 4 out of 5]

"the work of medicine in considerable part rests on the doctor's ability to listen to the stories that patients tell; to make sense of these often chaotic narratives of illness; to inspect and evaluate the listener's personal response to the story told; to understand what these narratives mean at multiple (and sometimes contradictory) levels, and to be moved by them."

An extremely diverse collection. Autobiographical accounts of alcoholism, arguments for the integration of cultural interviews in poverty medicine, and reflections recording the constant struggle against loneliness and the cold stoicism that so often pervades the profession. The anthology pools entries under four headings, describing the qualities required for a successful career in medicine: altruistic, knowledgeable, skillful, dutiful. However, by the end of the first selection, a cheeky piece about a patient forcing her doctor to experience empathy via hypnosis, it's clear these headings cannot (and should not!) be used as a personal checklist for medical aptitude. In day to day encounters, caregivers often find themselves in positions of helplessness where knowledge fails and they must draw upon other strengths to heal their patients. In one, treatise-like entry Eric Cassel points out that emotional pain associated with doubt, confusion, and isolation can be as intense as its physical counterpart. At the end of the day, "the heart must carry the reasoning across those inches or feet of office room" and "the primary role of the good physician is to offer unconditional acceptance of the patient's being; to clarify (without judging) the cause of the illness; to honor the pain, to recognize the fear, and to hold on to hope."

[Anisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a while to read all the way through this anthology, mostly due to its organization. Its section headings are derived from qualities of the physician as identified by AAMC; though this organization makes sense, it ends up creating strange literary combinations within the sections. Long academic essays are sandwiched between heart-wrenching and light hearted stories, and this jarring sequence required me to put the book down at the end of each piece to recalibrate my mind for the next. That being said, the pieces themselves are excellent, plucking at the heart while challenging the mind. These individual expressions create a collective voice to emphasize some of the most pressing and overlooked issues in modern medicine: the need to recognize the whole patient rather than just the disease, the admission of the subjectivity in science and the value in ceaseless exploration and evaluation of the human condition.

[India M. Clamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Life in Medicine: A Literary Anthology by Randy Michael Testa, is a moving connected collection of poems, tales, and essays by and for specific use for those who are practicing the healing profession. Sometimes the challenge is to keep up on the science. This book is arranged to embrace the central themes of altruism, knowledge, student skills, and duty.

“In everything you recognize yourself again. The beetle that lies dead in your path—it was something that lived, that struggled for its existence like you, that rejoiced in the sun like you, that knew anxiety and pain like you. And now it is nothing more than decomposing material—as you, too, shall be sooner or later.”
---Randy-Michael Testa

You will find within "A Life in Medicine: A Literary Anthony," contributions from doctors, nurses, authors, practitioners, and patients. These contributions address what it means to care for a life in a century and what really contributes to measurable outcomes in the healing process.

[Rachel Hajar · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent anthology for physicians. It is a collection of experiences and encounters of doctors with individual patients. Doctors will recognize that they have been similar situations but each patient is unique and it is the uniqueness of the patient as an individual that makes the stories in the anthology fascinating.

I would recommend this book to everyone.

[Shivesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good anthology, collecting dozens of stories and anecdotes from doctors and nurses, young and old. A great addition to the medical bookshelf.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the texts of my Literature and Medicine course at my university. While I haven't read every single story, the ones I have read were amazing. This is a great anthology!

[Gabriella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent perspectives from different people

[Rob Dhillon]

As a gift from my father and as he did, I still love Medicine.

[Lelygr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful collection. Edited by bone of my former colleagues who epitomized medical humanism.

[Lindsey Berkowitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible collection of writing, anyone in the medical profession should read this book. This one will definitely be one that I continuously read for the rest of my life.