A Doctor's Odyssey

This book chronicles some of the defining events in the author's life as a physician, first in Britain and then the United States. The book not only describes multiple medical experiences in ways that are, simultaneously, entertaining, informative, and poignant, but also provides an illuminating contrast between two very different systems of western medicine in the last 22 years of the twentieth century. The book is divided into three parts. The first part deals with the three years following the author's graduation from the Welsh National School of Medicine in 1978, when the author worked as a medical house officer in several district general hospitals in Wales and England. The second part of the book deals with the unexpected death of the author's father in 1982, and the author's subsequent move to join the staff of a major teaching hospital affiliate in New York City. The final part of the book follows the author's medical career at that institution from resident to chief resident to cardiology fellow to attending physician to Associate Director of Medicine. In sum, the book provides a whirlwind tour of a twenty-two year medical odyssey that spans two continents, and is filled with experiences that are harrowing, hilarious and ultimately uplifting.