If I became just a brain in a jar - as long as I can communicate back and forth with people, that would be okay with me.
Atul GawandePractice is funny that way. For days and days, you make out only the fragments of what to do. And then one day you've got the thing whole. Conscious learning becomes unconscious knowledge, and you cannot say precisely how.
Atul GawandeThe possibilities and probabilities are all we have to work with in medicine, though. What we are drawn to in this imperfect science, what we in fact covet in our way, is the alterable moment-the fragile but crystalline opportunity for one's know-how, ability, or just gut instinct to change the course of another's life for the better.
Atul GawandeDonโt let yourself be. Find something new to try, something to change. Count how often it succeeds and how often it doesnโt. Write about it. Ask a patient or a colleague what they think about it. See if you can keep the conversation going.
Atul GawandeMy own son has a congenital heart condition, where his life was saved by a cardiac surgeon stepping in at 11 days of life to save his life. But he is now 21 years old because of constant monitoring and working with him with a primary care physician. that's the only reason now that he's getting to live a long and healthy life. That's what we're not rewarding. They don't have the kind of resources and commitment that we are giving to people like me. I have millions of dollars of equipment available to me when I go to work every day in an operating room.
Atul Gawande