James Le Fanu
Physician, Enrich Thyself
Can Medicine Be Cured? The Corruption of a Profession
By Seamus O’Mahoney
Head of Zeus 326pp £20
Medicine has lost its mojo. To be sure, the technological ingenuity of keyhole surgery is amazing, the previously inconceivable (in vitro fertilisation, curing childhood cancer) is now routine and every year tens of thousands of people previously doomed to blindness by cataracts or being crippled by arthritis have their sight or mobility restored. Yet for all the immense good that medicine does, for those who have laboured in its vineyards for any length of time it is no longer the noble calling it once was. ‘I qualified just as the golden age of medicine was ending,’ writes Seamus O’Mahoney. ‘In the thirty-five years since then, I have worked in … many hospitals. I have witnessed … the corruption of my profession.’
Harsh words. The gist of his argument is that while everyday medical practice, what doctors do, continues much as before, the profession’s moral authority, and particularly its commitment to the truth, has been undermined, subverted even, by self-seeking careerists, managerialists, regulators and the machinations of drug companies.
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
Are iPhones ruining children's lives? A prominent American psychologist thinks so.
@tiffanyjenkins is not so sure:
Tiffany Jenkins - The Smartphone Pandemic
Tiffany Jenkins: The Smartphone Pandemic - The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an...
literaryreview.co.uk
India's 'festival of democracy', or general election, begins next month. Like every good festival, it looks likely to have its fair share of murders and arrests.
@OwenBennettJon probes the state of democracy in India:
Owen Bennett-Jones - New Delhi Confidential
Owen Bennett-Jones: New Delhi Confidential - The Incarcerations: BK-16 and the Search for Democracy in India by Alpa Shah
literaryreview.co.uk
Where is the world's newest narcostate and why is it thriving?
@AdamBrookesWord investigates Asia's meth mecca.
Adam Brookes - Meth Comes to Myanmar
Adam Brookes: Meth Comes to Myanmar - Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel That Outwitted the CIA by Patrick Winn
literaryreview.co.uk