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Sep 27, 2006

"It isn't reasonable to ask that we achieve perfection. What is reasonable is that we never cease to aim for it." --Atul Gawande

The Scalpel-and-Pen Wielding Genius

2006 MacCarthur "genius" Atul Gawande wields a scalpel and pen with equal skill. His best-selling book, "Complications" is a series of loosely related essays that focus on surgical themes while highlighting critical issues facing every branch of medicine. The 40-year-old surgeon and author is an assistant professor of surgery and assistant professor of health policy and management at Harvard. Gawande not only describes and does surgery well, he improves upon it. Among the many contributions for which he is being honored are bar codes to prevent surgeons from leaving sponges and instruments in patients and a simple one-to-10 score to indicate the likelihood of surgical complications. In this thought-provoking New Yorker interview, Gawande talks about who really pays the price when patients sue doctors.