License to Heal has the following as a subtitle, Random memories of an ER Doctor.
My feeling as I read this book was as if the author were sitting across a table in a coffee shop telling of his experiences over the past 33 years. Within these eight chapters, the reader will laugh, cry and become enraged. Although Dr. Bentley moved many times, his practice was all in North Carolina, mostly in small rural hospitals. He does an excellent job of helping the reader through the medical language whether it be common or obscure terminolotg to someone not affiliated with the medical field. For example: prognosis, (outcome)we all know that one and then there is pulse oximeters (to show oxygen level in the blood) As you read about these real human beings and their medical issues, you'll find yourself wanting to know what happened after they left the Emergency Department (ED). This must be the nature of this type of work; the physician treats and releases when needed. There are a few stories where there was follow up, for example; A mother came back to the ED to thank Dr. Bentley for helping her young daughter. Unfortunately there are too many that you do know what happened next because they didn't make it. Yes, they died and there is a lot of death in this book. It makes one thankful for those who choose this profession even though they know it's going to be tough at times. Dr. Bentley is now retired and jaded by the fact that medicine has become corporate. This is evidenced by the powers that be who told him he did not make enough money for them and that he no longer saw patients, rather they were customers.
Quote: "What did I learn after all these years in the ER? It is a time-worn cliche, and a universal truth, that needs to be relearned frequently. Life truly is precious, and so very brief." ( )