Conroe cardiac surgeon Steven Farber began writing “Behind the White Coat” as a cautionary tale for medical school students. Along the way, he realized there was a wider audience for his book: anyone who has ever been a patient. His book presents a very human look at the life of a physician from the insane rigors of medical school through every day practice in a small, tightly knit community. Farber doesn’t hide behind his white coat–his book is conversational and revealing. He relates his experiences with the health care system and how his decision to enter medical practice has affected his life over his twenty years as a doctor. The effects have been many and profound. A careless slip with a needle many years ago at the end of grueling marathon shift exposed him to Hepatitis C, a disease that has been resistant to cure. His experiences battling this illness give him a dual perspective on health care–both as doctor and sometimes-frustrated patient. Farber writes candidly about the impact his medical career has had on his personal life – the interruptions his family had to endure when work came first, broken marriages and continual frustration of being paged regardless of where he was or what he was enjoying. He explores the delicate balancing act between maintaining a family life and the demands of his job that sometimes cannot be ignored. To be a doctor is to be perpetually fatigued, he writes, a condition made worse by his hepatitis. Tired doctors make mistakes that range from gruff and insensitive treatment of their patients to errors in judgment and execution during delicate medical procedures. Farber questions the conventional approach to training medical professionals, which has them working long shifts back-to-back to the point of exhaustion. Patients experience aggravation with health insurance systems, but don’t always realize that doctors often experience similar frustrations. Managed health care providers look over the physician’s shoulders, second-guessing, denying requested tests and treatments on fiscal rather than medical grounds. When the insurer deems certain tests unnecessary, the doctor loses face with his patient. Farber recounts his exasperation at spending hours on the telephone trying to get through to a live human at an HMO to try to extract payment or get approval for a procedure. He also writes about the constant battles doctors have with lawyers who examine the outcome of every treatment that goes bad to see if there are grounds for a lawsuit. Farber considers himself lucky to have been sued only once in his career, but he must be continually vigilant to that possibility, even when he has done nothing wrong. As a cautionary tale, Farber’s memoir is an eye-opener. It makes one wonder why any sane individual would consider such a profession. Doctors fight for their privacy almost like movie stars do. When in public, people–whether patients of the doctor or not–unload their medical problems on a poor physician who is trying to enjoy a quiet meal or a social gathering. Farber’s book uncloaks the human being symbolized by the white coat. His personal revelations should encourage readers to reflect upon the nature of the man or woman who sometimes breezes into the examining room for a few moments before rushing off to handle something else. Web site and all contents © Copyright Bev Vincent 2023. All rights reserved. |
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