About the author
Atul Gawande is a general and endocrine
surgeon based at the the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, USA. Gawande is
also a staff writer for The New Yorker
magazine and the author of four best-selling books. His latest work, published
in late 2014, is titled “Being Mortal:
Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End”.
Who should read this book?
Everyone – healthcare providers, patients
and the lay public. Although several issues are highlighted through a case
series of patients with medical problems, the book does not focus on the ins
and outs of medical matters, such as the specifics of treatments. Gawande’s easy
style of writing makes this book accessible to all.
In summary
This book explores the concept of mortality
and the impact that modern day medicine has had on it.
Using a series of cases, Gawande discusses
the experiences of several people as they grow old, some with life-limiting
diseases and others who simply become frail. He looks at the struggle to retain
independence and autonomy; how care systems often try to provide support in a
regimented way. Gawande discusses the concept of “assisted living”, which helps people to
continue to live the lives that they have lived. Furthermore, Gawande explores
the belief of healthcare professionals that they have failed when a patient
dies. Many find it difficult to accept that medicine cannot fix everything, and
therefore may give poor information to their patients about what they
realistically expect medical management to accomplish. Gawande discusses the
importance of having those hard conversations with patients to find out what
matters most to each individual so that therapy and care can be tailored to
them. He argues that what we should be striving for is maintaining quality of
life until death, rather than just prolonging life itself.
What’s good about this book?
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| Gawande uses #whatmattersmost on Twitter |
The use of case studies and personal
experiences to explore the issues involved in growing old and dying engage the
reader. Gawande’s writing style makes “Being Mortal” very easy to read despite
the potentially heavy subject matter. Mortality was not well covered in my
undergraduate training – indeed it was barely touched upon – and I suspect that
this is the same across the board in undergraduate medical education. This impression
is supported by a study by Bowden et al (2013) who found that Foundation Year doctors
expressed a lack of readiness to deliver end of life support and care. “Being Mortal” really makes the reader think about
the latter stages of life and the importance of preserving what matters most to
each individual. It gives the reader an understanding of mortality that, for
the healthcare professional, will benefit her patients and, for the individual,
will benefit her, her relatives and her friends.
What’s bad about this book?
This is not a quick read book. It is very
thought-provoking and encourages discussion - you will need time to read,
absorb and think about its contents.
Final thoughts
This is by far the most inspirational and
thought provoking book I have read – a must-read for anyone involved in patient
care.
Reference
Bowden, J., Dempsey, K., Boyd. K., Fallon.
M. and Murray. S.A. (2013) Are newly qualified doctors prepared to provide
supportive and end-of-life care? A survey of Foundation Year 1 doctors and
consultants, Journal of the Royal College
of Physicians of Edinburgh. 43 pp.24-28 [Online] Available at: http://www.rcpe.ac.uk/sites/default/files/bowden.pdf
(Accessed: 02 March 2015)
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