A Surgeon's Lessons, Learned and Lost

John Raffensperger, MD, describes how doctors in the mid-20th century learned medicine in the autopsy room, the laboratory, and at bedside, training to become well-rounded general physicians. Since then, many doctors have specialized during medical school, depending on X-rays and blood tests, rather than listening and "laying on of hands." Medicine became a de-personalized business, subject to greedy insurance executives and hospital administrators. "A compelling and candid account of how surgeons learn and refine their skills. John Raffensperger shares successes and failures, advances in medicine and surgery, the faults in today's system, what we might learn from health care systems in other countries, and the pitfalls of hospital politics."- Di Saggau, Island Sun newspaper, Santiva/Captiva Florida "A candid narrative of more than forty years in practice and teaching of a pioneering pediatric surgeon, infused with historical perspective of medical education and medical practice ... Dr. Raffensperger has done it all over those years, developing new procedures, teaching medical students and residents at the bedside, serving as surgeon-in-chief at a leading center for pediatric surgery, the Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, and authoring books ... His concern for patients' welfare shines through the book as he calls for fundamental reforms based on a single payer national health insurance." - John Geyman, MD, Professor Emeritus of Family Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle "In the field of contemporary health care, it is generally acknowledged that Dr. John Raffensperger is one of the most eminent pediatric surgeons of our day... We are now lucky to see him produce a memoir ...the portrayal of a life devoted to the care of sick children." - F. Gonzalez-Crussi, MD, Emeritus Professor of Pathology, Northwestern University, Chicago