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No Apparent Distress: A Doctor's Coming-of-Age on the Front Lines of American Medicine
No Apparent Distress: A Doctor's Coming-of-Age on the Front Lines of American Medicine | Rachel Pearson
14 posts | 6 read | 25 to read
A brutally frank memoir about doctors and patients in a health care system that puts the poor at risk. In medical charts, the term N.A.D. (No Apparent Distress) is used for patients who appear stable. The phrase also aptly describes Americas medical system when it comes to treating the underprivileged. Medical students learn on the bodies of the poorand the poor suffer from their mistakes. Rachel Pearson confronted these harsh realities when she started medical school in Galveston, Texas. Pearson, herself from a working-class background, remains haunted by the suicide of a close friend, experiences firsthand the heartbreak of her own errors in a patients care, and witnesses the ruinous effects of a hurricane on a Texas towns medical system. In a free clinic where the motto is All Are Welcome Here, she learns how to practice medicine with love and tenacity amidst the raging injustices of a system that favors the rich and the white. No Apparent Distress is at once an indictment of American health care and a deeply moving tale of one doctors coming-of-age.
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review
BarbaraTheBibliophage
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Pickpick

Pearson is exquisitely vulnerable throughout this book. She never shies away from telling the painful truths of her experience, even when it makes her look incompetent. As the book progresses, she gains so much knowledge and, yes, competence, that she ultimately seems almost too hard on herself. I applaud her ability to tell her unvarnished truths. Super medical memoir!

Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2019 #nfornonfiction

Crazeedi I love medical themed books, going to have to look for this 5y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Crazeedi You should. Go read my full review for more info, but either way I definitely recommend it. 5y
Crazeedi @BarbaraTheBibliophage I did go read the review! Thank you!!! 5y
See All 17 Comments
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Crazeedi Saw that! Thanks for commenting too. What are some of your fav medically oriented books? 5y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa I knew you‘d like this one! 5y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Riveted_Reader_Melissa For sure. It is exactly in my reading wheelhouse. 5y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Riveted_Reader_Melissa And I‘m glad I have the Kindle version—bought long before we picked this. BTW, did you see the Kindle SFF sale today? 5y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @BarbaraTheBibliophage No, but I‘ll have to check it out. 5y
Crazeedi @BarbaraTheBibliophage recently read *the shift* (which I saw you read), *12 patients*, *the butchering art*, *lab girl*, many many others I can't think of right now. Oh one about cancer made into a PBS documentary, what do you recommend? 5y
Crazeedi @BarbaraTheBibliophage I also have shelves of herbal tomes, ayurvedic medicine, Chinese medicine, homeopathic, etc. I have studied on my own systems of healing. I did attend a conference with Deepak Chopra once. Just super interested in medicine. And botanicals and on and on, lol😉 5y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Crazeedi Oh we might be reading twinsies. I haven‘t read 12 Patients, but have read the other two you mentioned. I the PBS / book you mean is Emperor of all Maladies. I bailed on it—but only because it was due back at the library. Bought a copy since then, just need to get back to it. Here‘s my GR shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/3932962?shelf=medical-memoir&sort=rating&o... 5y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Crazeedi I‘m definitely more focused on medicine these days, but I‘ve read a ton of holistic books in the past too. 5y
Crazeedi @BarbaraTheBibliophage that's a great idea, making a medical shelf, I need to organize my goodreads shelves too. Thanks! I'll tag you if I read/find any ones I enjoy. Have you read *Dr.Mutters Marvels*. I purchased after we toured the museum in Philly. Haven't read yet 5y
Crazeedi Adored *when breath becomes air*, so good 5y
Crazeedi @BarbaraTheBibliophage I also have *in the magic shop* my husband read and said very good, I haven't read yet. Ok I'll stop now! Lol 5y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Crazeedi I really want to got the Mutter, especially since I only live 90 min away. But it grosses Mr. B out so we haven‘t ... if you liked Breath Becomes Air, try this one 5y
Crazeedi @BarbaraTheBibliophage it's an amazing museum!!! Thanks for the rec! 5y
91 likes5 stack adds17 comments
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BarbaraTheBibliophage
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It‘s our last month! 😰 What a great set of #nonfiction choices this year. So far, this one is engaging and I think it‘ll be particularly timely with all the media attention on TX right now.
#nfornonfictionyeartwo #nfornonfiction

Crazeedi This looks interesting! 5y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa I know! I can‘t believe it‘s the last one this cycle again! 5y
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review
Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Pickpick

What a great book that I didn‘t even know I needed to read, so glad it came my way. It‘s an excellent view into the life of 1 medical student on her journey to becoming a doctor and all the many pitfalls of the process and our American system of healthcare that became abundantly clear along the way. A great read for at this time and place as we once again fight out the idea of equal rights to quality healthcare for all of our citizens.

Riveted_Reader_Melissa #NForNonfictionRidesAgain I mailed this one out to you this afternoon @tjwill 5y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa Also my 3rd book for #14Books14Weeks with @TheHeartlandBookFairy Yes, I‘m a few weeks behind already, I‘ll try to do some catching up this weekend.🤣 5y
Amiable Stacking —thanks! 5y
See All 7 Comments
BarbaraTheBibliophage I have this one on my Kindle shelf, but it'll be better to read it with the group's comments! Glad you liked it. 5y
Crazeedi Adding 5y
tjwill @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Thanks! I‘m a bit behind but should be finished with yours in the next few days to pass along to @BarbaraTheBibliophage. 5y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @tjwill No problem, some of these were a bit longer than others, and some a bit denser than anticipated. 5y
67 likes6 stack adds7 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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“The problem is, of course, that these mistakes happen systemically, and not just to anyone. They happen to the uninsured”

#NForNonFictionRidesAgain

Caroline2 Cor...how sad is that!!! 😔 5y
BarbaraTheBibliophage 💔 Alternately heartbreaking and angry making. I'm reading an ARC for a recently-published book you might also like. As an aging person and also caregiver, it's been really eye opening. 5y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @BarbaraTheBibliophage I‘ll definitely look it up! 5y
RebL Glug. 5y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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I looked it up and took the test, they also have ones for race, skin tone, religion, sexuality, etc. Very interesting! I‘m going to take a few of the other ones too. I started with skin tone test and got a “slight” preference.

#NForNonfictionRidesAgain (love that tag by the way DaniWithTea)

https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/selectatouchtest.html

BookNAround My son took this in a college class and amazingly enough came back as perfectly neutral on all tested biases. I‘m taking that as a parenting win even though I know it probably has less to do with me than with his friends and other life experiences. 5y
cathysaid Wow. I took the gender test and apparently I should lose my Feminist card. 😔 5y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @cathysaid But at least if we know it‘s an issue it‘s something we can work on. (edited) 5y
MicheleinPhilly Oh thank you for the reminder! I saw this recently on United Shades of America and wanted to take it. 5y
56 likes4 comments
review
daniwithtea
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Pickpick

A solid 4 stars for me. Headed your way, @Riveted_Reader_Melissa - a little early because I‘m out of town at the end of the month. Enjoy! @tjwill @BarbaraTheBibliophage #nfornonfictionridesagain

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Thank you! I‘ll keep my eyes open for it. Enjoy your vacation! 5y
daniwithtea Thanks! I‘m excited for a week at my in laws‘ relaxing by the heated pool :D 5y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa It arrived here safely today! 👍 5y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @daniwithtea I will, have a great week away! 5y
24 likes5 comments
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daniwithtea

I just came across an article about the tagged book and thought it might be a good pick for our next non-fiction swap - what do you think @BarbaraTheBibliophage @tjwill @Riveted_Reader_Melissa ?

BarbaraTheBibliophage This one is on my Kindle shelf, so it‘s a pick for me. 5y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa Looks good to me! 5y
tjwill I think it looks interesting! 5y
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Easytiger
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Peace and quiet and chilly place to read some books and camp 🥶🌲❄️🏕🏔🏔 my non fiction read for January is really good and about local Texas medical students and hospitals..... very informative! Glad I went out of my normal choices to read this

Soubhiville Wow, beautiful! Please keep yourself warm and safe up there! 5y
Easytiger It got 11 degrees one night but I had plenty of quilts made with love from my grandma and mom and hand warmers I placed in all my pockets ☺️🤓 5y
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review
tricours
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Pickpick

Interesting! I‘m actually surprised there IS this level of care for the poor. I thought the US was all either insurance or nothing. What I miss in this book is a financial perspective. Who is going to pay for the care she wants? And she mentions waiting a month for Pap smear results as something extreme! Here we don‘t get any results unless they‘re bad. So if you never hear anything, you‘re good!

Aimeesue Federal law requires hospitals to provide live-saving treatment to everyone, so no one can be turned away. After that, it's kind of a crapshoot, sadly. There's Medicaid, of course, but that's administered by the individual states and there are a lot of gaps between who qualifies for Medicaid economically and who can afford private insurance if they make too much to qualify for Medicaid. It's heartbreaking and AWFUL. 6y
29 likes1 comment
review
alisonrose
Pickpick

Overall an important book. I‘m glad the author wants to help ppl understand the issue & I appreciate how forthright she is about the racial dynamic. POC, esp. those who are poor, have long been treated horribly by the health care system (& basically every other system too, of course) and this shows it‘s still a present problem. The stories felt a bit repetitive, and she went off on some unnecessary personal tangents. Still a worthwhile read 3/5 ⭐️

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alisonrose
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Owlizabeth I had no idea! 6y
alisonrose @Owlizabeth neither did I! And I think her view on this is super important 6y
33 likes2 comments
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alisonrose

In the early years of the United States, cadavers for dissection in medical schools came almost exclusively from communities of color. [...] Because the white medical profession did not recognize the sacredness—the symbolic life—of people of color, their bodies were seen as fit for dissection.

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alisonrose
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Time for a little depressing nonfiction! #nowreading

RaimeyGallant I know that feeling. It's the main element in my audiobook holds. :) 6y
40 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Rhondareads
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A young Drs experiences in today's world of medical care.The suffering of the poor in our health care system.Highly relevant in today's political climate.

10 likes3 stack adds