Looking for a book to get my dad for Christmas. He is a critical care physician who is really into his job. I’m not really sure how to gauge medical non-fiction myself. Bonus points if it includes ICU/pulmonology/sepsis! He also is really into physician burnout
by bluesummerknight
12 Comments
The Hot Zone by Richard Preston? Not sepsis, but ebola.
I really enjoyed Unnatural Causes: The Life and Many Deaths of Britain’s Top Forensic Pathologist.
Lots of history this man experienced via analyzing deaths — 9/11, Princess Diana, some really horrible mass casualty events in the UK — and then just the regular day to day people like us.
It was a really interesting read and I’m not even in the medical field.
The Medical Detectives by Berton Roueche.
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
Song of the Cell by Mukherjee
Empire of Pain by Radden Keefe (Sackler family and the opioid epidemic)
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena. Beautiful book.
In Shock by Rama Awdish
Every Deep Drawn Breath by Wes Ely might be up his alley, if he hasn’t already read it. As would Being Mortal by Atul Gawande.
Signed, ER nurse who loves medical memoirs and non-fiction
If you go for fiction, the covenant of water or cutting for stone. They’re written by a practicing doctor – boy did I learn a lot about specific medical topics read them. The story is phenomenal too
This is going to hurt by Adam Kay if you’re after a memoir that isn’t when Breath becomes air
Everything is Tuberculosis and the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
Maybe the James Herriot books. Adjacent field (vet) but good humor and many same themes (uncooperative patients, mis-adherance to Rx, sleuthing for diagnosis, etc)
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