“I am your doctor”
I have always admired the writing of Abraham Verghese. I had earlier linked to this article about helping to treat the Katrina refugees. He has published a new novel, Cutting for Stone. Here is Verghese in conversation with Dr Pauline Chen in the NYT: “The importance of the ritual of one patient baring his or her soul and body cannot be underestimated. Rituals are terribly important to human beings because they signify transformation. This is how you earn your right to say, ‘I am your doctor.’ If as a doctor you shortchange the ritual, you end up making patients feel you aren’t interested. They lose trust.”
Here is a review.
