The medic and the "librarian"
938225
Molly and Brody become pen-pals when she sends books to the Army as part of her community service project. Their story is viewed through their correspondence with each other. Their friendship was based on their love of books. This novella was a breeze to read and the hero and heroine were both strong willed and very likeable. Their story was entertaining with obstacles faced with courage and understanding. Well done!
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Story Description:

HarperCollins|September 3, 2010|Hardcover|ISBN: 978-1-55468-391-8

Dr. Brian Goldman is both an emergency room physician at Mount Sinai and a prominent medical journalist.  Never one to shy away from controversy, Goldman specializes in kicking open the doors to the medical establishment revealing what really goes on behind the scenes - and in the minds of doctors and nurses.

In The Night Shift, Goldman shares his experiences in the witching hours at Mount Sinai Hospital in downtown Toronto.  We meet the kinds of patients who walk into an ER after midnight: late night revellers injured on their way home after last call, teens assaulted in the streets by other teens and a woman who punches another woman out of jealousy over a man.  But Goldman also reveals the emotional, heartbreaking side of everyday ER visits: adult children forced to make life and death decisions about critically ill parents, victims of sexual assault, and mentally ill and homeless patients looking for understanding and a quick fix in the twenty-four hour waiting room.  Written with Goldman's trademark honesty and with surprising humour, The Night Shift is also a frank look at many issues facing the medical profession today, and offers a highly compelling inside view into an often shrouded world.

My Review:

This was an absolutely phenomenal book!  Dr. Goldman blows the lid off what really goes on inside the Emergency Room for those inquiring minds who want to know.  Goldman is frank, honest and doesn't mince words about both the good and bad sides of his profession.

The decisions, quick thinking and the speed at which these doctors and nurses often have to work is staggering.  When you're in the position of trying to save someone's life you don't have time to stand around and take a lot of time to think of your best options.  At times, you just have to go with the flow so to speak.

I feel terribly sorry for the mentally ill who are often misunderstood and don't always get a sympathetic or understanding ear at the emergency department and Goldman admits that.  Some just don't have the patience to administer to the needs and requirements of these people in society which is sad.  It must be very frustrating for the patient.

The Night Shift was a riveting read and kept me glued from the first page to the last page and quite frankly, I didn't want it to end.  I wanted more stories.  I'll definitely be recommending this to friends and family.
4886939
A very good story combining medicine,doctors and police work, my favorite things! A fast moving story that has suspense build as we meet more characters who want money, for money is definitely the root of all in this tale!
We meet some great ER docs who are working together in a lab on a drug to help a person with spinal cord injuries. A few others learn of this, and use their abilities to try to use knowledge of the drug to their own advantage by selling the research .
This is a great look into life in an emergency room, with realistic moments by the author, a retired ER doctor. I definitely want to read the second book soon.
3547925
Diagnosis Death by Richard L. Mabry Ph. D. is the third book in the Prescription for Trouble medical thriller series. Dr. Elena Gardner is still grieving the death of her husband Mark, who died after a cerebral hemorrhage left him brain dead. The circumstances of his actual death are under suspicion because while Elena doesn't remember turning off his ventilator, she can't swear that she didn't do it either. She's only a few weeks away from the end of her residency when a patient, in similar condition to Mark, dies after his ventilator is turned off, and someone has forged Elena's signature on his medical file. Coupled with strange phone calls every Tuesday night at midnight from a sobbing woman, make Elena a bit relieved to leave her position early and take up her new position helping out a pregnant doctor in Dainger, Texas. She hopes that the distance will give her time to recover from her grief and repair her reputation as a doctor, but it seems as though she can't run from them, no matter where she goes. While this is the third book in the series, readers don't need to be familiar with the previous volumes to dive right into this thrilling story. Mabry uses medical detail to raise the tension without ever becoming overly technical. Elena is a sympathetic character, but readers will occasionally want to give her a good shake when she insists on taking some not-so-bright moves. The ending was a bit contrived, I can't say much without giving it away, but it took a bit more suspension of disbelief to accept the identity of the villain(s). Still, Mabry does a good job of selling it, and his ability to ratchet up the tension while adding twists and turns makes him a writer to follow. This reviewer's prescription is to sit back and enjoy the ride.
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Gwen Harding is a medical examiner in Breakbridge, Colorado she has a man with his throat cut she is working on the body when Ryker Cross is in the room he wants to see the body, he thinks it might be his brother. After she leaves that night the body is taken , and then returned mangled so she can not do a good reading on it. Who took it and why? Dr. Wesley Hilliard is a good looking man and for awhile she had a crush in him but with Ryker in her life Ryker becomes very important to her. But both Dr. Wesley and Ryker are keeping something from her, what is it? The next victim is Dr. Dahlia Previn What is going on?  I was gifted a copy for an honest review barwatts@telus.net
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Kudos to the patient/author for a clearly and very cleverly written description of a not-all-that-rare medical event. I look forward to reading more by Andy.  My husband mid-story said "this guy is funny" and asked if there was more by him I could download to his Kindle.

Becky B., Coral Gables, FL
3707389
Chronicles: The Library of Illumination contains few short stories that revolves around a very special kind of library. I loved this idea, that some of the books can come to life and the characters from them can visit us. I liked especially the appearance of Dr. John Watson. How I wished it could happen to me! ;)
Although the characters are teenagers, they don't feel like one. Maybe Jackson sometimes but Johanna is a very mature for a girl her age.
Each story was exciting and different, I think I liked "Doubloons" and "Casanova" the most.
It was a good read and I'm looking forward to the next!
343138
Gripping story.  Could not put the book down, read it all in one go.  The hero who wrote this, Dr. Appel, gives keen insight into the logistical nightmare that haunts the medical community in Liberia, as well as cultural factors negatively impacting the ability to deliver effective healthcare.

In spite of the myriad problems, Dr. Appel saved lives every day, bravely facing the risk of contracting Ebola all the while.

We owe so much to doctors like this author, who willingly put their lives on the line to care for others, in the spirit of Christ.

Especially of note are the suggestions given at the end explaining what actions would lead to successfully containing the epidemic.

Readers of this book may also be interested in an older book, written by Laurie Garrett, "The Coming Plague..."
2017828
This is  a book that is very much oriented to the RN that is currently working in the Cath Lab and wants to improve their knowledge.
396039
Whoever said the life of a small-town librarian must be dull?  As cadavers pile up, large sums of money change hands, deliberate "accidents" are narrowly averted and romances begin to blossom, the local police are still no wiser.  It's time for an amateur genealogist to step in and help solve the mystery.
2467753
Ms. Midwestern idealist social worker meets jaded ER doc and the hospital ER dept. figure she might last a week.
Each section of this book begins with a listing of statistics on child abuse, spousal abuse, or rapes which is then illustrated by what happens in the ER. The writer gives us a glimpse of the dark underbelly of our world, yet holds out glimmers of hope in the midst of the ugliness. Well written, great action-driven plot with the characters maturing as they interact. I want to read more of this author's works. This book was acquired at no charge through The Fussy Librarian.
3293838
I would recommend this to anyone in the medical field. It is well written with regards to hospital daily life. What is most exciting and surprising about the story is that something like this can
actually occur causing torment and expense to an individual.
788750
A doctor that seeks justice for the ER trauma victims, a idealistic Social Worker, are the compelling characters that fuel the action.
Keeps your interest throughout.
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This was a good look into part of what a veteran medic has seen, I am sure this is just the half of what he has experienced.  This book kept my interest all the way through.  I had trouble putting it down.  I had to tell all my friends to stop reading it and buy their own copy.  You do not see this type of portrayal on television or movies.  I am sure the other half of what he has seen in this job would make an even better follow up copy.  I think he would be wise to wait for retirement though.  A must have for anyone who is thinking of entering this field.
237498
Interesting novel about a hospital anesthesia department with disgruntled employees.
1696662
Review

By Sol Tetelbaum

Through the Eyes of a Nurse
By Jane Schuman

I read the book before it was published and recommended it for publication because I found it interesting. It is a book about many different people, many different situations and stories and about one huge experience of a person with kind heart. The Author devoted her life to medicine. Her stories are about different aspects of helping people during the worst part of their lives. The stories are different, but what they have in common is that they reflect the hard work of nurses - medics whose job is one of the hardest in human professions.

I am not going to retell the stories; let the readers judge and think for themselves. When I read the book one thought came to my mind: To take care of humanity is frequently easier than taking care of one human being. Those who are going to devote their lives to a medical profession will see that just a medical education is not enough. And the reader will come to understand many aspects of hard but very noble medical professions. It is a very human book. I would recommend it both for the ordinary readers and those who shape medical policy.

Solomon (Sol) Tetelbaum.
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First of all, let me state that I haven't experienced yet the turmoils of a residency or internship.  I'm a second year medical student, so it was fascinating for me to see what lies ahead. I think it'll be even more interesting to re-read this book after getting through residency, and see how accurately it portrayed the experience.

The book is very similar in tone to "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" as it points out the contradictions and ironies of modern medicine.  In the book, it is implied that it is crueler to prolong the suffering of the 'gomers' (a derogatory term for elderly patients who are very ill, confused, and in a lot of pain, but still manage to avoid death) than to poke and prod them, doing one diagnostic test and procedure after another.  'Turfing', or sending a patient to another ward or department, is encouraged as an excellent way to get rid of patients that one does not want to treat.

There are two main schools of thought in the book: the first is the idea of physician as a healer and hero, portrayed by Jo, a female internist; the second is the idea of medicine as temporary modifications--some of which do more harm than good--represented by the "Fat Man".

Jo is a purist and what one would now call a "gunner"--a highly ambitious internist with her sights set on a cardiology fellowship; she believes that medicine is best taught by textbooks and best practiced aggressively and voraciously.  With Jo, every patient gets a full workup and plenty of procedures, which often lead to secondary infections and complications more damaging than the primary disease process itself.  To please her, the interns working under her often "BUFF" the charts (document tests and procedures that were not actually done) while waiting for the patients' conditions to resolve themselves.

The "Fat Man" is a cynical New Yorker with a voracious appetite and hopes for a GI fellowship.  He becomes a mentor to the narrator, Dr. Basch, and practices medicine based on his own experiences (hence the ridiculous age + BUN = lasix dose rule), but has a natural gift for it that Jo and the other physicians do not.

Somewhere in the middle is Roy G. Basch, the protagonist who experiences many sleepless nights, sexual escapades, and conflicting thoughts about what it means to be a physician.  I don't want to give away the ending, but let's just say I loved it.  The book sheds light on the difficulties of dealing with life and death (hence the "House of God") and the high expectations placed on physicians.  It's definitely a worthwhile read, and a very honest look at the profession.