Abraham Verghese
Abraham Verghese
Abraham Vergheseis a physician-author, Professor for the Theory and Practice of Medicine at Stanford University Medical School and Senior Associate Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine. He is also the author of three best-selling books, two memoirs and a novel. In 2011, he was elected to be a member of the Institute of Medicine...
NationalityEthiopian
ProfessionAuthor
CountryEthiopia
ears emergencies comfort
In an emergency, what treatment is given by ear? Words of Comfort.
meaningful book writing
There is that lovely feeling of one reader telling another, 'You must read this.' I've always wanted to write a book like that, with the sense that you are contributing to the discourse in middle America, a discourse that begins at a book club in a living room, but then spreads. That is meaningful to me.
technology feelings body
My sense is that the wonderful technology that we have to visualize the inside of the body often leaves physicians feeling that the exam is a waste of time and so they may shortchange the ritual.
yesterday vanity riches
Yesterday misspent can't be recall'd Vanity makes beauty contemptible Wisdom is more valuable than riches.
medicine feelings emergencies
She felt the familiar calmness of an emergency, but she understood the falseness of that feeling, now that it was her life at stake.
math numbers praying
Pray tell us, what's your favorite number?
meals
Life for the Italians was what it was, no more and no less, an interlude between meals
giving matter bleeding
No matter what ailed you, you went to see the barber surgeon who wound up cupping you, bleeding you, purging you. And, oh yes, if you wanted, he would give you a haircut and pull your tooth while he was at it.
writing cutting medicine
In writing, as in medicine, there are no short cuts. You need stamina.
uncles school role-models
Certainly when I got to medical school, I had role models of the kind of physicians I wanted to be. I had an uncle who, looking back, was probably not the most-educated physician around, but he carried it off so well.
mind bowels be-careful
Be careful! Travel expands the mind and loosens the bowels.
guilt action righteous
...guilt leads to righteous action, but rarely is it the right action.
believe cat missing
I joke, but I only half joke, that if you come to one of our hospitals missing a limb, no one will believe you till they get a CAT scan, MRI, or orthopedic consult.
thinking people scripture
I always wondered if the good people who send us bibles really think that hookworm and hunger are healed by scripture? Our patients are illiterate.