This Ain't ER: A Heart Surgeon's Struggle to Keep the Faith
By C. Patrick Murrah, M.D.
This Ain't ER is Dr. Patrick Murrah's day-by-day account of his struggle to maintain his ideals on the road to fulfilling the dream of becoming a cordiothoracic surgeon -- what we commonly call a heart surgeon.
The path included four years of college and four years of medical school. Then, within the world of medicine, general surgery residencies are the most difficult. Within the general surgery residencies, the 'seven-year good-old-boy spanking machine' that is Bayview is generally regarded as one of the most malignant. Then there are three more years of 120-hours-per-week in a cardiothoracic surgery fellowship to make the finish line --a total of eighteen years of training!
The book begins with a passage from his diary that Patrick Murrah wrote during his application to medical school. In it he speaks in a very idealistic way about his image of the ideal physician. But through the training process, sensitivity begins to dlip away, arrogance sneaks in, anger and frustration are frequent companions, all vastly multiplied by the almost-constant fatigue and the never-ending pressure of trying to make ends meet.
From the very beginning, Patrick Murrah decided to document his experiences as they happened -- including his personal struggles to stay married, 'normal' and reasonably similar to the idealistic guy that jumped on to this fast-moving train -- so that his observations would not be altered or softened by hindsight. The results is a unique, real-time look at the training process, a process as brutal, scathing and demeaning as it is beneficial and rewarding. And a process that ultimately results in the best-trained physicians in the world.
Soft cover; 6 x 9, ISBN 1-885003-49-8; $14.95 plus $3.50 S&H.
