- Email: [email protected]
Death of the Good Doctor
Media Review JANAC Vol. 12, No. 1, January/February 2001 Media Review
Death of the Good Doctor by Kate Scannell, MD. San Francisco, CA: Cleis Press, 1999, ISBN 1-57344-091-4. The AIDS epidemic has presented the medical profession with tremendous challenges—especially to doctors. Despite doctors’ many years of special training and preparation, the same fears of AIDS present in the general lay population have been found to exist among doctors. The resulting stress of confronting a disease they had no answers or explanation for led to burnout among many physicians directly involved with treating persons with HIV disease. Death of the Good Doctor is an account of how one physician dealt with and survived her confrontation with the AIDS epidemic. Kate Scannell, a physician, demonstrates she is not afraid to deal with her personal turmoil in telling the story of how the stress of confronting AIDS has affected her. This story is told in a frank and honest manner. Anyone who has worked in the area of HIV/AIDS treatment and care can relate to Dr. Scannell’s story. The setting for the book is the early years of the AIDS epidemic, the early 1980s. During this time, the general public did not want to acknowledge the epidemic. This book presents a brief but balanced history of the initial response to the epidemic in the United States. The author has skillfully woven the story, presenting the events taking place in the political, social, and medical setting of the time. In addition, the author moves the reader beyond the statistics and social reactions to HIV/AIDS to provide insight into her emotions in dealing with patients with HIV/AIDS, almost all of whom are dying. The author has told her own story about a woman who is challenged to become a physician and then is faced with responding to the vast complexities of an epidemic. Her storytelling style allows the reader to put a face on the epidemic and give meaning to the statistics, as they are introduced to several of Scannell’s patients.
Although Scannell’s professional training has been focused on keeping patients alive at all costs, her work with patients with HIV/AIDS allows her to reach a point where she is not averse to letting her patients die when the time comes. This affords her patients the ability to die with dignity. Scannell’s actions demonstrate and underscore the need to maintain a human perspective in medicine, to accept that, despite the tremendous advance of knowledge in medical science, death is a vital and necessary part of life. By the end of the book, the reader is able to rejoice at the transformation of the “good doctor” and embrace with delight the emergence of a doctor who is able to treat the whole patient. This doctor is not afraid to be human in facing the personal and professional challenges presented by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Death of the Good Doctor is engaging and offers a unique perspective on the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The author has truly been able to present “Lessons from the Heart of the AIDS Epidemic.” This book has been written in such a way that it will be informative and enjoyable reading for health care and social service providers working with persons with HIV/AIDS, as well as any individual who has personally been affected by HIV/AIDS.
JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION OF NURSES IN AIDS CARE, Vol. 12, No. 1, January/February 2001, 87 Copyright © 2001 Association of Nurses in AIDS Care
John R. Spann, MA
Death of the Good Doctor by Kate Scannell, MD. San Francisco, CA: Cleis Press, 1999, ISBN 1-57344-091-4. The AIDS epidemic has presented the medical profession with tremendous challenges—especially to doctors. Despite doctors’ many years of special training and preparation, the same fears of AIDS present in the general lay population have been found to exist among doctors. The resulting stress of confronting a disease they had no answers or explanation for led to burnout among many physicians directly involved with treating persons with HIV disease. Death of the Good Doctor is an account of how one physician dealt with and survived her confrontation with the AIDS epidemic. Kate Scannell, a physician, demonstrates she is not afraid to deal with her personal turmoil in telling the story of how the stress of confronting AIDS has affected her. This story is told in a frank and honest manner. Anyone who has worked in the area of HIV/AIDS treatment and care can relate to Dr. Scannell’s story. The setting for the book is the early years of the AIDS epidemic, the early 1980s. During this time, the general public did not want to acknowledge the epidemic. This book presents a brief but balanced history of the initial response to the epidemic in the United States. The author has skillfully woven the story, presenting the events taking place in the political, social, and medical setting of the time. In addition, the author moves the reader beyond the statistics and social reactions to HIV/AIDS to provide insight into her emotions in dealing with patients with HIV/AIDS, almost all of whom are dying. The author has told her own story about a woman who is challenged to become a physician and then is faced with responding to the vast complexities of an epidemic. Her storytelling style allows the reader to put a face on the epidemic and give meaning to the statistics, as they are introduced to several of Scannell’s patients.
Although Scannell’s professional training has been focused on keeping patients alive at all costs, her work with patients with HIV/AIDS allows her to reach a point where she is not averse to letting her patients die when the time comes. This affords her patients the ability to die with dignity. Scannell’s actions demonstrate and underscore the need to maintain a human perspective in medicine, to accept that, despite the tremendous advance of knowledge in medical science, death is a vital and necessary part of life. By the end of the book, the reader is able to rejoice at the transformation of the “good doctor” and embrace with delight the emergence of a doctor who is able to treat the whole patient. This doctor is not afraid to be human in facing the personal and professional challenges presented by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Death of the Good Doctor is engaging and offers a unique perspective on the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The author has truly been able to present “Lessons from the Heart of the AIDS Epidemic.” This book has been written in such a way that it will be informative and enjoyable reading for health care and social service providers working with persons with HIV/AIDS, as well as any individual who has personally been affected by HIV/AIDS.
JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION OF NURSES IN AIDS CARE, Vol. 12, No. 1, January/February 2001, 87 Copyright © 2001 Association of Nurses in AIDS Care
John R. Spann, MA