Inspiring to Me- To Be Neurosurgeon | Another Day in the Frontal Lobe: A Brain Surgeon Exposes Life on the...

a dissapointment | Another Day in the Frontal Lobe: A Brain Surgeon Exposes Life on the Inside | Katrina Firlik

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	• Another Day in the Frontal Lobe: A Brain Surgeon Exposes Life on the Inside Katrina Firlik Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2007 - 271 pages average customer review:based on 75 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Captivating Narrative

I enjoyed Firlik's narrative about being a neurosurgeon. Her book accurately depicts the contradictions that surgeons face on a daily basis throughout their medical training. I relate to her inability, at times, to separate her personal views on philosophy of mind and religion from the work she does. While some might find this odd, I find it charming to hear the various perspectives she has on these issues. I found it to be a book that I could pick up and read a few chapters at a time, but not one that enthralled me to read in one sitting.

Inspiring to Me- To Be Neurosurgeon

I'm 19 and found this book an inspiring read. It confirmed my expectations and made me even more hungry to follow in her footsteps. I liked the way the author used humor and storytelling to convey the events/thoughts going through her mind while working. She is a great writer with a budding second career. She even gave advice on getting into residency! I really couldn't put the book down. While the book wasn't written to be a Chilton's neurosurgery manual for third world countries, it does include some technical terms/explanations which I enjoyed as I am not yet in medical school. Thanks for the great book!

I will now address the negative reviews and their fallacies.

1. To the person who said "Despite Dr. Firlik's stream-of-conscious writing style, I found that her subject matter is excellent". This is a allegorical biography based on the work of someone. What did you expect? This book maintains amazing clarity throughout its entirety and is amazingly crafted.

2. "I think what bothered me most was the lack of follow-up on most of the stories of the patients." If you wanted this, you should probably change book aisles.

3. "Her descriptions of neurology conventions, for example, or her fictional account of the future of neurosurgery are not nearly as interesting as the actual patients with whom she's worked." Again, you are reading the wrong type of book. I found the section dedicated to the future of neurosurgery as fascinating and a great way to end the uplifting book. This book is about the life of a neurosurgeon, not case studies on all of her patients.

4. "I found the anecdotes and personal opinions rather embarrassing and narcissistic. The author expressed thoughts that some doctors may have fleetingly, but are able to self censor." This is her book, full of her thoughts, which just happen to be rational. I'm sorry your feelings are hurt because yours are not. It is refreshing to see a doctor actually value something and stand up for what is rational. If by narcissistic you mean good at what she does and proud of it, then I'm glad non narcissistic people like you are not in the OR.

Anyway, this book has a majority of five star reviews for good reasons, and is refreshingly unique and personal for anyone wanting to learn more.

Clayton
[...]

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a dissapointment

The author spends a great deal of time talking about being one of the few women in her field: and yet, she is not in private practice anymore and is a high priced researcher. Why? What made her leave. I was looking for a read on women in surgery especially the more male dominated fields. Insead of wasting my money (thanks though to amazon, not a lot), I could have easily gained the same insight by watching some classic er reruns. There are better books out there that examine the patriarchy more, the impacts of neurosurgery more and the impacts on a long term career. But the book is good for a 2 hour flight if you want something more than a murder mystery.

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Did We Read the Same Book?

I bought this book a few months ago in a store. I liked it, and I ordered another copy today for my aunt, who had a large but benign tumor removed from her brain several years ago. She's been fine since the operation, and I think she'll find this book to be a fascinating insight into how her surgeon perceived her.

I noticed that there were several one star reviews. After reading them, I can only wonder if we read the same book. The author's continual presentation is that she is part of a team, and is no more responsible for saving people's lives than all of the other doctors and technicians in the hospital, as well as the patient's family (who may have noticed the problem before the patient did). Dr. Firlik describes how long she trained and what it was like, as a human-interest story, and it is interesting. There's not one drop of grandstanding or showing off in the book. Far from being obsessed by money, she explains how she and her husband live in a simple house several towns removed from the hospital where she works, as they can't afford the real estate that's closer.

Dr. Firlik writes well, and the story moves back and forth easily between stories about her training and what she is doing at present. This isn't an in-depth study of neurosurgery, nor was it ever meant to be. It is an entertaining and informative story about how neurosurgeons are created and some of the future possibilities for the field. It is far from being an 'airport book' (something that you can read in a departure lounge while being aurally assaulted by announcements and the antics of fellow passengers). It is a very enjoyable read, and gives the rest of us a view of a world we hopefully would not see otherwise.

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Smart and Engaging

This was such a wonderful read! I learned so much about life as a resident. It was more than a memoir, it was educational. I was fascinated with the stories she told, and simply could not put the book down. I highly recommend this book.

Katrina Firlik is a neurosurgeon, one of only two hundred or so women among the alpha males who dominate this high-pressure, high-prestige medical specialty. She is also a superbly gifted writer?witty, insightful, at once deeply humane and refreshingly wry. In Another Day in the Frontal Lobe, Dr. Firlik draws on this rare combination to create a neurosurgeon?s Kitchen Confidential?a unique insider?s memoir of a fascinating profession.

Neurosurgeons are renowned for their big egos and aggressive self-confidence, and Dr. Firlik confirms that timidity is indeed rare in the field. ?They?re the kids who never lost at musical chairs,? she writes. A brain surgeon is not only a highly trained scientist and clinician but also a mechanic who of necessity develops an intimate, hands-on familiarity with the gray matter inside our skulls. It?s the balance between cutting-edge medical technology and manual dexterity, between instinct and expertise, that Firlik finds so appealing?and so difficult to master.

Firlik recounts how her background as a surgeon?s daughter with a strong stomach and a keen interest in the brain led her to this rarefied specialty, and she describes her challenging, atypical trek from medical student to fully qualified surgeon. Among Firlik?s more memorable cases: a young roofer who walked into the hospital with a three-inch-long barbed nail driven into his forehead, the result of an accident with his partner?s nail gun, and a sweet little seven-year-old boy whose untreated earache had become a raging, potentially fatal infection of the brain lining.

From OR theatrics to thorny ethical questions, from the surprisingly primitive tools in a neurosurgeon?s kit to glimpses of future techniques like the ?brain lift,? Firlik cracks open medicine?s most prestigious and secretive specialty. Candid, smart, clear-eyed, and unfailingly engaging, Another Day in the Frontal Lobe is a mesmerizing behind-the-scenes glimpse into a world of incredible competition and incalculable rewards.

From the Hardcover edition.

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