Along with medical journals and textbooks, surgeons have drawn important lessons from titles on their own bookshelves. Three orthopedic surgeons shared the books they feel are required reading for everyone in their field.
Ask Orthopedic Surgeons is a weekly series of questions posed to surgeons around the country about clinical, business and policy issues affecting orthopedic care. We invite all orthopedic surgeon and specialist responses.
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Please send responses to Carly Behm at cbehm@beckershealthcare.com by 5 p.m. CDT Wednesday, May 4.
Editor's note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What’s one book you recommend all orthopedic surgeons read in their lives and why?
Anthony Melillo, MD. Bay Oaks Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine (Houston): I truly recommend all physicians and especially surgeons read Being Mortal by Atul Gawande, MD, a practicing surgeon. In this very important book, he fearlessly discusses the emotional struggles of his profession and the lost art of supporting dying patients. It moved me from tears to enlightenment about the ultimate experience that every patient, friend, family member and one's self will confront eventually. This is a remarkable book!
Cory Calendine, MD. Bone and Joint Institute of Tennessee (Franklin): The Bible. Because you will never be done learning from it.
Sigurd Berven, MD. University of California San Francisco: I recommend The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. The book captures the importance of perseverance and teamwork in individual and group achievement. The concepts of harmony, symphony and swing are central to the success of the University of Washington crew in 1936 and apply to teams in other realms, including orthopedic surgery departments.