As summer approaches, and you look for a new book to take with you on vacation, I wholeheartedly recommend the short stories in A Few Small Moments.  But first, a disclosure.  I have known Carol Scott-Conner for years.  She is a fellow surgeon, friend, and a chapter author in my second book Collaborate for Success.  She tells it like it is:

• In Masks,”she was fighting the angel of death…. No one would die that night.  She had looked feral.”
• In Achilles Heel, “Who could argue with perfectionism in a surgeon? …. The OR was indeed stressful for everyone, and most surgeons managed to keep their cool.  There was a clear line that delineated the appropriate response to that stress.  Alix crossed that line, time and time again.”
• In The Notebook, “The thing is I just don’t care anymore.  And that’s really bad.  I’m thinking of getting out of surgery altogether.  I could write poetry, maybe even go back to school.”
  “She was increasingly pulled in three directions…. She spent 50% of her time taking care of patients, 50% of her time teaching and writing, and 50% of her time in meetings- and yes, that added up to more than 100%. There had to be an easier way to make a living.”
• In Passing Storm, “… I was committed to give a talk to a group of high school kids in one of those innumerable small towns that dotted the area.  A female role model.  I had never felt less like one.  Female failure, more like it.”

There are some wonderful pearls passed on, for example:

• In Passing Storm, “I … sat down on the foot of Janice’s bed…. It puts you on the same level as your patients…. It makes you more human…. Besides, it saves your feet.”
• In Clinic Day, ‘”Is there anything I haven’t asked about that you think might be related?’ Silly question, most people probably thought.  But once in a while, you hit pay dirt.”
• In Who Will Catch Me When I Fall,”She could hear the tension in her own voice and willed herself to relax.  Tension in the small resuscitation room was already high.  Adrenalin made people move faster, made them more alert.  Too much, and they made mistakes.  She had to set the tone.”
  “The law says that clothes for children must be flame-proof, but there isn’t any requirement for clothes for adults.  So little old ladies set themselves on fire when they reach over to get the teapot off the gas stove.  Make sure your grandma has an electric stove, and tell her not to wear her shawl, or anything with trailing sleeves, when she goes near it.”

 I especially liked the last chapter, The Making of a Surgeon:
“Surgeons need to be able to make decisions under conditions of incomplete information, and most surgeons crave the immediate gratification of success or failure.  Most surgeons are distinguished by a buoyant optimism and high energy level…. You need to be well organized and to have a lot of energy and a sympathetic spouse”

I hope that you make this book part of your summer must-reads.

Kenneth H. Cohn, MD, MBA, FACS

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