A very quick, entertaining read. Written by a practising anesthetist, this book provides an interesting glimpse into the life of the operating room and its denizens. One chapter breaks down several medical specialties by personality type (using the Myers-Briggs system), and another details what exactly goes on during some common medical procedures, such as knee and hip replacement surgery. He tells very good anecdotes, often rather off-colour or naughty ones that are laugh-out-loud funny. My only real complaint is that I wanted the book to be longer. Recommended for people interested in all things medical, particularly those who watch medical shows like House or Grey's Anatomy. ( )

To show how old I am and how much I like doctor shows, I've been a fan of Dr. Marcus Welby, M.D. I had high school crushes on Dr. Kildare and Ben Casey. I devoured Frank Slaughter books. Nowadays, I watch Grey's Anatomy as soon as it is on my TiVo.

Then along comes Operating Room Confidential written by an anesthesiologist, Paul Whang, M.D. While I read it, I recalled all the questions the nurses and aides asked me before my surgery a few years ago. Ah-ha moment -- Dr. Whang explains why all these questions are essential, plus what not to say before surgery.

Have you noticed a difference between your medical specialists -- such as the cardiologist, the ob-gyn doc, the internist? Whang does a great chapter about personality types and quirks among the specialists.
Can you guess which doctor gets burn-out the fastest? Which specialist drives the most flamboyant car?

The hospital and other workers are described in detail. It is obvious Dr. Whang does not like the Administration. I smiled thinking about the tv show House and Cuddy having to deal with him. The most glamorous people in the hospital are the physiotherapists and dietitians. But the hospital cafeteria is a different story!

A fun read, which also gives you a few shudders along the way.

The full review is here http://www.reflectionswithcoffee.com/2010/05/operating-room-confidential.html ( )

Dr. Whang is an anesthetist at a busy Toronto hospital and, as such, has the opportunity to observe the goings-on during many operations performed by a variety of surgeons. With a candid, conversational tone peppered with anecdotes and insider observations Whang guides us through a day in the operating room in a way that is both entertaining and informative. Whang covers topics ranging from the daily protocol of the operating room (the 5 second rule applies to nothing, for the record), the types of patients doctors fear the most (lawyers, other doctors, doctors' family members), personality types of the various medical specialties, as well as some cold hard information about what to expect if you, yourself, are about to go under the knife.

At the start, I very much enjoyed Dr. Whang's exposure of the daily happenings of the operating room. His observations and anecdotes are told with insight and wit, and I learned some interesting things, some of which confirm a good deal of what you see on Grey's Anatomy isn't so far beyond the pale. I definitely found myself in agreement with many of his comments on hospital hierarchy and the frustrating disconnect between administration and the people actually doing the hard work of caring for patients on a daily basis. I am, however, happy to report that my hospital differs from Whang's on the food front. He comments at length, in a very funny section, about the terrible lack of quality in hospital cafeteria food.

As I came into the home stretch of the book, though, it began to lose my interest a bit. Toward the latter end of the book, Whang spends a good deal of time giving us information, some of which is valuable and some of which consists of surgery details that I almost wish I could un-read. Whang's in depth description of his function as an anesthetist, what good anesthesia looks and feels like for the patient, and how to aid recovery with good pain management are valuable and, I think, comforting for those about to undergo surgery. On the other hand, his very detailed descriptions of, for example, the minutiae of knee or hip replacement surgery made me cringe and I would heartily recommend not reading these portions if you foresee these sorts of surgeries in your future. The idea of having one of these mostly routine procedures one day in my hopefully distant future distresses me more than ever having read the details.

I do think knowledge and a certain amount of preparedness is definitely helpful when it comes to undergoing and recovering from a surgical procedure, and Operating Room Confidential does a good job of providing us with this information. That said, though, there is a point past which ignorance is bliss, and I fear that, just a time or two, Whang's explanations go beyond that point. Other than these few instances, though, Operating Room Confidential is an engrossing and honest portrait of what goes on behind closed doors, both the good and bad, and I would recommend it to anybody who's ever been curious about the innermost workings of a hospital. ( )

The idea of this book intrigued me. Having had a few surgical procedures performed on me, I was curious about comparing my experiences with what Dr. Whang had to say. I think I was treated quite well in the hospital, and I'm not sure that I would have done anything differently after reading this book.

Some of the more interesting aspects were when it came to the descriptions of the other medical specialists. As an observer, he seems to have a good knack for describing the different types of people and the specialties into which they go.

This was an interesting read. ( )