Better - Gawande

 

On the cover of “Better” by Atul Gawande, the thoughtful Malcolm Gladwell exclaims, “Better is a masterpiece…”.  To be sure “Better” gets high marks for exploring territory that the medical profession might sooner forget, even Gawande admits to his discomfort level but to suggest that the bell curve tells us “…something unforgettable about the world outside” is to know very little about the world outside.  However, I don’t want this to be about Gladwell.  Gawande is a good writer.  He captures the medical world, a world alien to most of us, through the eyes of a surgeon in a way that makes those who heal, those we trust and respect more than any others in society, almost human.  They are just like us.  As the father of a daughter who was brought into this world with a mere 23.3 weeks gestation and a zero Apgar score, who just turned 10 years old this month, I considered these healers and decided they were superhuman.  They were sheltered from a world of stress, financial worry, problems with relationships, and the like.  I knew I was kidding myself but I chose to believe.  I knew the doctors and nurses caring for my daughter in the NICU for 87 days were on top of their game.  Gawande pierces the veil and I applaud the effort to capture his thoughts.  To take the time from his busy schedule to think and to consider the meaning in what he does, to improve, to get better.  He has a simplistic five-step method; Ask an unscripted question, don’t complain, count something, write something, and change.  Simple enough, and the beauty of his formula is that it will work, and it can be applied to all aspects of life – so do as Gawande asked, heath professional or not, improve what you are and what you do.  However the real message, the journey Gawande takes us on to reach his formula, is the better part of “Better”.  And since we all get sick and need the medical profession, we should all stand in the shoes of a medical professional.  Gawande let’s us stand in those shoes, if just for a brief moment, to glimpse a world where life and death decisions hang in the balance. Followed shortly by a life and death decision in the next examination room.  Most of us will never know this kind of life.  So here is my formula, first go wash your hands.  Second go read this book.  It will not change your life, but it will change your perspective on your next visit to the doctor’s office and how you perceive the hidden world of medicine.