RT Journal
A1 Cook HF
T1 Life and death: The story of a hospital
JF JAMA
JO JAMA
YR 1989
FD October 6
VO 262
IS 13
SP 1865
OP 1865
DO 10.1001/jama.1989.03430130141055
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.1989.03430130141055
AB At the risk of being overly dramatic, I would recommend this book as must reading for anyone who may someday be a hospital patient.This is a book that tells the story of hospital people—doctors, nurses, administrators, planners, barbers, bakers, and all the hundreds of other workers, in plain English and with empathy. It is not a maudlin book, but it has emotional impact of a high order.The modern hospital is an enormously complex institution with a broad range of employee job descriptions, far more than any other enterprise. How does one mold these people into an efficient, effective team of medical workers to give the best scientific care to the patients? And how does one instill and then retain in these employees the human compassion to match the medical excellence?Ina Yalof's background includes having been a medical sociologist in a metropolitan hospital for 10 years. She draws