White Coat Wisdom is about extremely accomplished professionals who've found true fulfillment in life through service to others. In hearing these doctors explain how they achieved this, readers learn about medicine and how we can better our own lives, and those of our families. It's a 590-page hardcover, the culmination of almost 25 years in medical journalism, culled from more than 56 hours of in-person interviews.
Hear the audio trailer
Outline--PARTS 1-10
I. No Strain, No Gain
1.Top "Gunner"—Doctor Anderson Bauer explains what modern medical training is like, how he keeps pushing himself and what he hopes to accomplish as a physician.(audio; :24 mp3)
2. Back to Med School—Thirty-two years of practicing medicine wasn’t quite enough for Sandra Osborn, MD. She only took a few weeks off before re-enrolling in medical school. (audio; :30 mp3)
3. Adjusting to Medicine—A chiropractor, Dr. Daniel Wik, fulfills his dream of going to medical school after an incredibly difficult personal struggle. It only gets worse during his training, as many in the medical profession have contempt for chiropractors. (audio: :35 mp3)
Fun with chiropractors (:35)
4.Young at Art —Doctor LuAnn Moraski is young enough to recall the details of her medical training and experienced enough to help doctors in training learn what is necessary and avoid some of the pitfalls.(audio; :33 mp3)
5. Blood, Sweat and Fears—Fearing needles and blood doesn’t stop Dr. Layton "Bing" Rikkers from rising to the top of the surgical profession.(audio; :25 mp3)
6. Operating without a Scalpel—Skills he devoted his life to perfecting, disappeared in an instant, following a car crash. Orthopedic surgeon Mark Aschliman was forced to reassess his practice and life following that unimaginable loss.(Audio :13 mp3 file)
II. Innovators
7. Seeing the Invisible Light—Instead of certain death for identical fetal twins with a rare disorder, Milwaukee’s Dr. Julian De Lia pioneered a way to save at least one and usually, both children. From all over the country, desperate parents of these kids find out about him on the Internet. (audio; :21 mp3)
8. Delivering the Male-- Doctor Robert Alt says men die too early in large part, because they fail to do the preventive maintenance their bodies require. He promotes annual physicals for men, even though insurance companies don’t want to pay for them and men don’t want to show up. (Audio Clip; :18 mp3)
9. Unconventional Wisdom—His wherewithal to give millions to charity demonstrates Dr. David Morris’ success at practicing his contrarian’s style of allergy medicine. But many of his colleagues don’t buy his theories or methods, even if patients from across the country do. (audio; :24 mp3)
III. Ounce of Publicity, Pound of Cure
10. Lights, Camera, Reaction!—Why keep lifesaving health information to yourself? Asks Dr. Patrick Remington. Although he doesn’t see individual patients, Remington does “see” them by the tens of thousands via epidemiological studies. Remington then entices the news media to disseminate what he finds. (Audio; :36 mp3)
11. Doctoring Health Policy—An exceptional pre-med student, Peter Vila, is determined to change the medical system, so it works more efficiently and helps more people. (audio; :25 mp3)
12. Wrench in the Killing Machine—Addicted smokers are dying prematurely by the hundreds of thousands each year in the U.S. Doctor Michael Fiore is trying to save them one at a time through treatment and counseling, and by the tens of thousands, via smart health policy. (audio; :43 mp3)
13. Pretty Smart—Having lost her father because an organ wasn’t found in time, Dr. Tina Marie Saurhammer did two rather remarkable things: She became a beauty queen and the youngest person to ever graduate from her medical school. (audio, :54 mp3)
IV. Performing Artists
14. Physician Musician—When his hands aren’t manipulating a scalpel, they’re dancing on piano keys. Surgeon Adam Dachman melds music and medicine. (audio; :43 mp3)
15. Playing Doctor--Doctor Mark Timmerman treats patients with athletic injuries, including those who have artistic performance related problems. An avid fitness enthusiast, he discusses how he gains credibility with patients so they actually listen to him and do what’s necessary to heal. (audio; :49 mp3)
16. Facing Plastic Surgery—As a kid, Andrew Campbell always liked art. When he got to medical school, he soon realized the hands that could draw so accurately, could cut rather precisely, as well. (audio, :21 mp3 audio)
V. Life On Call
17. A Cut Above—Surgeon John Riesch still works 100-hour weeks and doesn’t plan to retire, even after nearly 50 years of practice. (audio; :42 mp3)
18. It’s the Relationship, Baby—Doctor Robert Jaeger reveals what it’s like to deliver babies for a living, and in doing so, how incredibly long patient relationships develop. (audio; :18 mp3)
19. Quarter Pounder with Thighs —Doctor Dennis Costakos spends his days and nights saving premature infants who probably would not have survived even ten years ago. He discusses why the number of preemies continues to rise, despite technical advances. (audio; :25 mp3) See the beautiful view from Cosakos' house, which is now available for purchase.
20. Don’t Show Me the Money—Being a doctor isn’t a job to John and Mary Frantz--it’s who they are. And after 60 years in practice, they don’t even want a salary. They just want health insurance. (Audio; Mary Frantz, MD discusses why she's upset that she can't donate her practice time, :30 mp3)
VI. Frayed Net
21. "DR DTOX"—Some doctors may consider addicts among the least desirable patients, even though they need medical help as much or more than other sick people. Unfortunately, physicians may be no better than the rest of us when it comes to holding stereotypes about those with drug dependencies. Besides, they may not know how to help them, even if they do care enough to try. But Dr. Michael Miller, president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, is passionate about helping them, despite the relentless obstacles inherent in doing so. (audio, :57 mp3)
22. Sick, Huddled Masses--Doctor George Schneider runs a free clinic for working patients who can’t afford health insurance. He sees its growing popularity as a rather ominous sign for our teetering health care system.(audio; :33 mp3)
23. Bleeding Money--Doctor John Whitcomb has figured out a way for his emergency room to lose millions of dollars less than most ERs. He describes how hospitals across the country are on the brink of bankruptcy because of patients who abuse the ER and short-sighted policies that create disincentives for preventive care. (audio; :27 mp3)
24. Homophobia and Health--Doctor Paul Wertsch worries that the national movement to define marriage in the constitution will harm access to health care for gay couples and their children. (audio; :47 mp3)
VII. Physicians who Listen
25. Strong, Silent Types--Good communication between doctors and patients can solve a lot of problems. So says, Dr. Norman Jensen, a specialist in patient/doctor communications, who is convinced it can prevent most lawsuits, too. (audio; :31 mp3)
26. War Rapport--Doctor Paul Vastola wouldn’t think of having his patients call him anything other than Paul. Relationship lessons he learned as a young soldier in World War II, strongly influenced how he related to patients throughout his long medical career.(audio; 1:03 mp3)
27. Fill-in Physician—Doctor Alan Schwartzstein has patients, but they really aren’t his. He’s a locum tenens, which means he substitutes for colleagues who are unable to make it to work on any given day. Ironically, he especially enjoys building rapport with patients, even if he rarely gets to see them on a long-term basis. (audio; :55 mp3)
VIII. Medicine on Trial
28. Courting Medicine--Richard Roberts, MD, JD, never thought medical training itself was sufficient to make a difference in health care. His plan was to get a law degree first, and then become a doctor. Now, he uses those dual skills every day, both as he constantly travels the world and practices medicine in a small, rural community. (audio; :34 mp3)
29. Sick, of Lawyers--There’s a new breed of doctor in America: they’re known as medical refugees. They flee one state to practice in another, not because they’re nomadic, but because they have no choice. Doctors Christopher Magiera and Pamela Galloway are a married couple who left Cleveland, for more medically friendly, Wisconsin. They accuse lawyers of attacking the medical profession and making it harder for patients to find the care they need. (audio; :42 mp3)
IX. World Class
30. Transplant from Turkey— As a young man in Turkey, Munci Kalayoglu wanted to become an architect. At least 1,400 people who had a fatal liver disease are grateful that he wasn’t cut out for that profession. Instead, he became a transplant surgeon. (audio; :31 mp3)
31. The Vision Thing—Doctor Kevin Flaherty is a corneal transplant surgeon. He lives much of his life under high magnification, helping people who’ve suffered everything from horrendous trauma to their eyes to relatively simple cataract removal. Although he loves restoring vision for patients, he still feels obligated to offer some vision to his profession outside of the office, and outside of the country. (audio; :18 mp3)
32. Miraculous Minds—Doctor Darold Treffert was the consultant for the movie, “Rainman,” the story of an autistic savant portrayed by Dustin Hoffman. Treffert studies the real ones—mentally disabled people who are human calculators, have mind boggling memorization skills or are musical geniuses, among other feats. Treffert explains how a psychiatrist from a small community became an international authority on this condition. (audio; 1:54 mp3)
33. Practicing Medicine…and English—Becoming a physician is a feat in itself, given the dedication over time that it requires. But practicing in a country where nobody speaks your native tongue raises the challenge to a whole new level. Pain medicine specialist, Dr. Miroslav "Misha" Backonja, explains how he did it.(audio, :21 mp3)
34. Life-Long Rescue Mission--Doctor Ayaz Samadani is a Pakistani native who’s practiced all over the world. He came to Wisconsin on a “rescue mission” that has lasted more than three decades. He never intended to stay, but settled in a small, rural community that’s about as different in culture and environment as he could imagine. (Audio; :21 mp3)
X. Grave Matters
35. Dying Right—A life in primary care medicine affords the doctor a front row seat to real life and death dramas. Doctor Philip Dougherty says each of us has a responsibility to spare loved ones any additional anguish after our death. All it takes is a pretty frank conversation and completing a few forms.(audio; :20 mp3)
36.Medicine Run Amok--Doctor Kay Heggestad—a hospice specialist—says too many patients and doctors don’t know when to stop when it comes to medical technology. She says what hospice offers is a better quality of life at the end of life, instead of a few more expensive weeks or months of discomfort or agony. (Audio; :35 mp3)
XI. Tribute
37. Rolling Wonder--A trait doctors seem to have in common is determination, so physicians who top that list are truly ones to admire. Dr. Kenneth Viste, Jr. was among them. He was both a hometown hero because of his extraordinary commitment to individual patients, and a star on a much larger scale because of his many leadership roles in medicine. Despite having spent his entire adult life in a wheel chair, nothing seemed capable of slowing him down.