Being mortal : medicine and what matters in the end / Atul Gawande.
Medicine has triumphed in modern times, transforming birth, injury, and infectious disease from harrowing to manageable. But in the inevitable condition of aging and death, the goals of medicine seem too frequently to run counter to the interest of the human spirit. Nursing homes, preoccupied with safety, pin patients into railed beds and wheelchairs. Hospitals isolate the dying, checking for vital signs long after the goals of cure have become moot. Doctors, committed to extending life, continue to carry out devastating procedures that in the end extend suffering. Gawande, a practicing surgeon, addresses his profession's ultimate limitation, arguing that quality of life is the desired goal for patients and families. Gawande offers examples of freer, more socially fulfilling models for assisting the infirm and dependent elderly, and he explores the varieties of hospice care to demonstrate that a person's last weeks or months may be rich and dignified. Full of eye-opening research and riveting storytelling, Being Mortal asserts that medicine can comfort and enhance our experience even to the end, providing not only a good life but also a good end.-- Provided by publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 0805095152
- ISBN: 1250076226
- ISBN: 1250081246
- ISBN: 9780805095159
- ISBN: 9781250076229
- ISBN: 9781250081247
- Physical Description: 282 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
- Edition: First edition
- Publisher: New York : Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt and Company, 2014.
Content descriptions
- General Note:
- Publisher and paging may vary.
- Bibliography, etc. Note:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 265-277).
- Formatted Contents Note:
- The independent self -- Things fall apart -- Dependence -- Assistance -- A better life -- Letting go -- Hard conversations -- Courage.
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Available copies
- 83 of 92 copies available at NC Cardinal. (Show)
- 4 of 4 copies available at Rutherford County Library System.
Holds
- 1 current hold with 92 total copies.
Other Formats and Editions
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountains Branch Library | 362.175 G (Text) | 38801101643226 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
| Norris Public Library | 362.17 Gaw (Text) | 30254100575239 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
| Rutherford County Library | 362.17 Gaw (Text) | 38801101672134 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
| Spindale Public Library | 362.17 Gaw (Text) | 30134100338913 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
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