Despite most of the negative limelight forced upon those in Wall Street, more and more headlines are popping up, regaling of the less-than-desirable conditions in the medical field. Insurance companies are being sued for dishonesty; hospitals are starting to crumble financially; patient-doctor trust is waning. At dire times, when the light of srutiny is nearly blinding, we can often get caught up in trying to keep our heads up--trying to survive--that we forget that we are lucky enough to do the very thing that we love the most.

For health professionals, that one thing is medicine. A new book titled, "Cutting for Stone," by Dr. Abraham Verghese of Standard University, helps doctors remember why they do what they do. Verghese, who over the past year, has been reminding doctors, medical educators and medical students about the importance of the physical exam, or what he refers to as “bedside skills,” in modern medical practice, brings out the artistic quality--the aesthetic experience--of medicine in his new book.

The New York Times book reviewer, Dr. Pauline Chen, wrote:

"After reading through several of these passages about doctoring, I could not help but feel about Dr. Verghese as the young Marion Stone did about his first doctor-teacher. “He invited me to a world that wasn’t secret, but it was well hidden. You needed a guide. You had to know what to look for, but also how to look. You had to exert yourself to see this world. But if you did, if you had that kind of curiosity, if you had an innate interest in the welfare of your fellow human beings, and if you went through that door, a strange thing happened: you left your petty troubles on the threshold.”

To read the full book review, please click here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/health/12chen.html?ref=health