It is 7 am in the Cardiac ward

It is 7 am in the Cardiac ward

It is 7 am in the Cardiac ward

by Dr. Kamalendu (Kamal) Malaker

I received a pdf copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is about Dr Malaker’s transition from caretaker to one who was being cared for. I’ve read about similar books, but this is the first time I’d actually read such a journey.

It has to be a difficult transformation from doctor to patient to post-patient and Dr Malaker does a decent job exploring two of the three journeys.

The book starts off very nicely with Dr Malaker’s trip back home, his journey becoming a patient, and his transition to being a post-cardiac patient.

What I found lacking in the book was a perspective when he was in the hospital of being a patient that truly understood what was going on around him. While he was polite in understanding the difficulties of his colleagues treating him, I never really felt that I truly understood what he was going through as a patient.

But when I read the aftermath and his transition from patient back to the medical field, I really enjoyed that and could empathize. My spouse survived a heart attack and I had a ring-side seat to his recovery. Thankfully, the spouse only had to have stents put in whereas Dr Malaker had open heart surgery.

His feelings during the transition were painful as he tried to find his place in the medical world and I really liked his musings about how medical personnel needs to empathize with the patients and not just treat them as their ailments.

I’m giving this book 3.5-4 stars. There’s enough “heart” in the book overcome any shortcomings.

[posted 08 September 2019]

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