Doctors who wield the Pen to Heal the Profession

There's an interesting article titled Doctors who wield the Pen to Heal the Professoin, on the type of books doctors are writing these days, in today's New York Times. It's written by Abigail Zuger, M.D.

Books mentioned:

JOHN E. CASTALDO AND LAWRENCE P. LEVITT "The Man With the Iron Tattoo and Other True Tales of Uncommon Wisdom: What Our Patients Have Taught Us About Love, Faith and Healing" (Benbella Books, $20).

ATUL GAWANDE "Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance" (Metropolitan, $24).

JOHN GEYMAN "The Corrosion of Medicine: Can the Profession Reclaim Its Moral Legacy?" (Common Courage Press, $17.95).

JEROME GROOPMAN "How Doctors Think" (Houghton Mifflin, $26).

BERTON ROUECHÉ "The Medical Detectives" (Plume, $16) and "The Man Who Grew Two Breasts" (Plume, $10.95).

SHANI STEIN-RATZKER "M.D.: A Four-Year Journey Through Medical School" (iUniverse Inc., $13.95).

GERALD WEISSMANN "Galileo's Gout: Science in an Age of Endarkenment" (Bellevue Literary Press, $25).

I should note that Berton Roueche's book should probably be classified more properly as the epidemiology field of public health , versus "medicine". His book The Medical Detectives is a great read, and describes work done by local health department workers and the Epidemiology Intelligence Service of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The stories are more fascinating than CSI, and all true.

Did you know, by the way, that the Public Health Service Commisioned Corps is the 7th uniformed service of the United States? Boasting rights for anyone who can name the other six. I'll start you off with "Army, Navy, Air Force ..."