IN SHOCK: a doctor turned critically ill patient explores the humanity gap in medicine

A riveting first-hand account of a physician who's suddenly a dying patient, In Shock " searches for a glimmer of hope in life's darkest moments, and finds it." — The Washington Post Dr. Rana Awdish never imagined that an emergency trip to the hospital would result in hemorrhaging nearly all of her blood volume and losing her unborn first child. But after her first visit, Dr. Awdish spent months fighting for her life, enduring consecutive major surgeries and experiencing multiple overlapping organ failures. At each step of the recovery process, Awdish was faced with something even more unexpected: repeated cavalier behavior from her fellow physicians—indifference following human loss, disregard for anguish and suffering, and an exacting emotional distance. Hauntingly perceptive and beautifully written, In Shock allows the reader to transform alongside Awidsh and watch what she discovers in our carefully-cultivated, yet often misguided, standard of care. Awdish comes to understand the fatal flaws in her profession and in her own past actions as a physician while achieving, through unflinching presence, a crystalline vision of a new and better possibility for us all. As Dr. Awdish finds herself up against the same self-protective partitions she was trained to construct as a medical student and physician, she artfully illuminates the dysfunction of disconnection. Shatteringly personal, and yet wholly universal, she offers a brave road map for anyone navigating illness while presenting physicians with a new paradigm and rationale for embracing the emotional bond between doctor and patient. A first-person account from a young critical care physician describes how toward the end of her medical training she suddenly became a patient fighting for her own life, revealing how her experiences exposed her to flaws in today's care standards and how to better embrace the emotional bond between doctor and patient. A first-person account from a young critical care physician describes how toward the end of her medical training she suddenly became a patient fighting for her own life, revealing how her experiences exposed her to flaws in today's care standards. A riveting first-hand account of a physician who's suddenly a dying patient and her revelation of the horribly misguided standard of care in the medical world Dr. Rana Awdish never imagined that an emergency trip to the hospital would result in hemorrhaging nearly all of her blood volume and losing her unborn first child. But after her first visit, Dr. Awdish spent months fighting for her life, enduring consecutive major surgeries and experiencing multiple overlapping organ failures. At each step of the recovery process, Awdish was faced with something even more unexpected: repeated cavalier behavior from her fellow physiciansindifference following human loss, disregard for anguish and suffering, and an exacting emotional distance. Hauntingly perceptive and beautifully written, In Shock allows the reader to transform alongside Awidsh and watch what she discovers in our carefully-cultivated, yet often misguided, standard of care. Awdish comes to understand the fatal flaws in her profession and in her own past actions as a physician while achieving, through unflinching presence, a crystalline vision of a new and better possibility for us all. As Dr. Awdish finds herself up against the same self-protective partitions she was trained to construct as a medical student and physician, she artfully illuminates the dysfunction of disconnection. Shatteringly personal, and yet wholly universal, she offers a brave road map for anyone navigating illness while presenting physicians with a new paradigm and rationale for embracing the emotional bond between doctor and patient.

A riveting first-hand account of a physician who's suddenly a dying patient, In Shock "searches for a glimmer of hope in life’s darkest moments, and finds it.” —The Washington Post

Dr. Rana Awdish never imagined that an emergency trip to the hospital would result in hemorrhaging nearly all of her blood volume and losing her unborn first child. But after her first visit, Dr. Awdish spent months fighting for her life, enduring consecutive major surgeries and experiencing multiple overlapping organ failures. At each step of the recovery process, Awdish was faced with something even more unexpected: repeated cavalier behavior from her fellow physicians—indifference following human loss, disregard for anguish and suffering, and an exacting emotional distance.

Hauntingly perceptive and beautifully written, In Shock allows the reader to transform alongside Awidsh and watch what she discovers in our carefully-cultivated, yet often misguided, standard of care. Awdish comes to understand the fatal flaws in her profession and in her own past actions as a physician while achieving, through unflinching presence, a crystalline vision of a new and better possibility for us all.

As Dr. Awdish finds herself up against the same self-protective partitions she was trained to construct as a medical student and physician, she artfully illuminates the dysfunction of disconnection. Shatteringly personal, and yet wholly universal, she offers a brave road map for anyone navigating illness while presenting physicians with a new paradigm and rationale for embracing the emotional bond between doctor and patient.

"The gripping story of a physician who suddenly became a dying patient, and a riveting exploration into the worlds of personal loss and faltering medical care. Dr. Rana Awdish never imagined that an emergency trip to the hospital would result in hemorrhaging nearly all of her blood volume and losing her unborn child. Awdish spent months fighting for her life, enduring consecutive major surgeries and multiple overlapping organ failures. At each step of the way, Awdish faced something even more unexpected: her fellow doctors' inability to truly see or acknowledge the pain of loss and human suffering. This exacting emotional distance was completely at odds with the vision of medicine she had aspired to. Yet, heartbreakingly, she recognized herself in every failure--the product of a culture that had normalized clinical distance and hardwired self-protective barriers into medical training. As she finds herself on the other side of the same partitions she was trained to construct, Awdish artfully illuminates the dysfunction of disconnection for everyone involved. It is through her unflinching examination of the fatal flaws in a well-intentioned but often-misguided standard of care that Awdish achieves a crystalline vision of a different and better possibility for us all. Shatteringly personal yet wholly universal, In Shock offers a brave road map for anyone navigating illness and presents physicians with a new paradigm and rationale for cultivating emotional bonds with their patients."--Jacket **A riveting first-hand account of a physician who's suddenly a dying patient, __In Shock "__searches for a glimmer of hope in life's darkest moments, and finds it." —__The Washington Post__** Hauntingly perceptive and beautifully written, __In Shock__ allows the reader to transform alongside Awidsh and watch what she discovers in our carefully-cultivated, yet often...