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Atul Gawande Quotes

And in stories, endings matter Picture Quote #1

Man is fallible, but maybe men are less so Picture Quote #1

No matter what measures are taken, doctors will sometimes falter, and it isn’t reasonable to ask that we achieve perfection. What is reasonable is to ask that we never cease to aim for it Picture Quote #1

Practice is funny that way. For days and days, you make out only the fragments of what to do. And then one day you’ve got the thing whole. Conscious learning becomes unconscious knowledge, and you cannot say precisely how Picture Quote #1

At times, in medicine, you feel you are inside a colossal and impossibly complex machine whose gears will turn for you only according to their own arbitrary rhythm. The notion that human caring, the effort to do better for people, might make a difference can seem hopelessly naive. But it isn’t Picture Quote #1

This was not guilt: guilt is what you feel when you have done something wrong. What I felt was shame: I was what was wrong Picture Quote #1

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Don’t let yourself be. Find something new to try, something to change. Count how often it succeeds and how often it doesn’t. Write about it. Ask a patient or a colleague what they think about it. See if you can keep the conversation going Picture Quote #1

Having great components is not enough, and yet we’ve been obsessed in medicine with components. We want the best drugs, the best technologies, the best specialists, but we don’t think too much about how it all comes together Picture Quote #1

Better is possible. It does not take genius. It takes diligence. It takes moral clarity. It takes ingenuity. And above all, it takes a willingness to try Picture Quote #1

We look for medicine to be an orderly field of knowledge and procedure. But it is not. It is an imperfect science, an enterprise of constantly changing knowledge, uncertain information, fallible individuals, and at the same time lives on the line. There is science in what we do, yes, but also habit, intuition, and sometimes plain old guessing. The gap between what we know and what we aim for persists. And this gap complicates everything we do Picture Quote #1

When I do an operation, it’s half a dozen people. When it goes beautifully, it’s like a symphony, with everybody playing their part Picture Quote #1

I chose surgery because I thought that perhaps this would make me more like the kind of person I wanted to be Picture Quote #1

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What about regular professionals, who just want to do what they do as well as they can? Picture Quote #1

As economists have often pointed out, we pay doctors for quantity, not quality. As they point out less often, we also pay them as individuals, rather than as members of a team working together for their patients. Both practices have made for serious problems Picture Quote #1

You can’t make a recipe for something as complicated as surgery. Instead, you can make a recipe for how to have a team that’s prepared for the unexpected Picture Quote #1

Courage is strength in the face of knowledge of what is to be feared or hoped. Wisdom is prudent strength Picture Quote #1

Our reluctance to honestly examine the experience of aging and dying has increased the harm we inflict on people and denied them the basic comforts they most need Picture Quote #1

I learned about a lot of things in medical school, but mortality wasn’t one of them Picture Quote #1

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The battle of being mortal is the battle to maintain the integrity of one’s life Picture Quote #1

You may not control life’s circumstances, but getting to be the author of your life means getting to control what you do with them Picture Quote #1

In every industrialized nation, the movement to reform health care has begun with stories about cruelty Picture Quote #1

This is the reality of intensive care: at any point, we are as apt to harm as we are to heal Picture Quote #1

Writing lets you step back and think through a problem. Even the angriest rant forces the writer to achieve a degree of thoughtfulness Picture Quote #1

You know, 97 percent of the time, if you come into a hospital, everything goes well. But three percent of the time, we have major complications Picture Quote #1

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I think the extreme complexity of medicine has become more than an individual clinician can handle. But not more than teams of clinicians can handle Picture Quote #1

No one teaches you how to think about money in medical school or residency. Yet, from the moment you start practicing, you must think about it. You must consider what is covered for a patient and what is not Picture Quote #1

Life is choices, and they are relentless. No sooner have you made one choice than another is upon you Picture Quote #1

Outsiders tend to be the first to recognize the inadequacies of our social institutions. But, precisely because they are outsiders, they are usually in a poor position to fix them Picture Quote #1

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Friendship Quotes

Motivational Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

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Text Quotes

And in stories, endings matter (Atul Gawande Quotes) Man is fallible, but maybe men are less so (Atul Gawande Quotes) No matter what measures are taken, doctors will sometimes falter, and it isn’t reasonable to ask that we achieve perfection. What is reasonable is to ask that we never cease to aim for it (Atul Gawande Quotes) Practice is funny that way. For days and days, you make out only the fragments of what to do. And then one day you’ve got the thing whole. Conscious learning becomes unconscious knowledge, and you cannot say precisely how (Atul Gawande Quotes) At times, in medicine, you feel you are inside a colossal and impossibly complex machine whose gears will turn for you only according to their own arbitrary rhythm. The notion that human caring, the effort to do better for people, might make a difference can seem hopelessly naive. But it isn’t (Atul Gawande Quotes) This was not guilt: guilt is what you feel when you have done something wrong. What I felt was shame: I was what was wrong (Atul Gawande Quotes) Don’t let yourself be. Find something new to try, something to change. Count how often it succeeds and how often it doesn’t. Write about it. Ask a patient or a colleague what they think about it. See if you can keep the conversation going (Atul Gawande Quotes) Having great components is not enough, and yet we’ve been obsessed in medicine with components. We want the best drugs, the best technologies, the best specialists, but we don’t think too much about how it all comes together (Atul Gawande Quotes) Better is possible. It does not take genius. It takes diligence. It takes moral clarity. It takes ingenuity. And above all, it takes a willingness to try (Atul Gawande Quotes) We look for medicine to be an orderly field of knowledge and procedure. But it is not. It is an imperfect science, an enterprise of constantly changing knowledge, uncertain information, fallible individuals, and at the same time lives on the line. There is science in what we do, yes, but also habit, intuition, and sometimes plain old guessing. The gap between what we know and what we aim for persists. And this gap complicates everything we do (Atul Gawande Quotes) When I do an operation, it’s half a dozen people. When it goes beautifully, it’s like a symphony, with everybody playing their part (Atul Gawande Quotes) I chose surgery because I thought that perhaps this would make me more like the kind of person I wanted to be (Atul Gawande Quotes) What about regular professionals, who just want to do what they do as well as they can? (Atul Gawande Quotes) As economists have often pointed out, we pay doctors for quantity, not quality. As they point out less often, we also pay them as individuals, rather than as members of a team working together for their patients. Both practices have made for serious problems (Atul Gawande Quotes) You can’t make a recipe for something as complicated as surgery. Instead, you can make a recipe for how to have a team that’s prepared for the unexpected (Atul Gawande Quotes) Courage is strength in the face of knowledge of what is to be feared or hoped. Wisdom is prudent strength (Atul Gawande Quotes) Our reluctance to honestly examine the experience of aging and dying has increased the harm we inflict on people and denied them the basic comforts they most need (Atul Gawande Quotes) I learned about a lot of things in medical school, but mortality wasn’t one of them (Atul Gawande Quotes) The battle of being mortal is the battle to maintain the integrity of one’s life (Atul Gawande Quotes) You may not control life’s circumstances, but getting to be the author of your life means getting to control what you do with them (Atul Gawande Quotes) In every industrialized nation, the movement to reform health care has begun with stories about cruelty (Atul Gawande Quotes) This is the reality of intensive care: at any point, we are as apt to harm as we are to heal (Atul Gawande Quotes) Writing lets you step back and think through a problem. Even the angriest rant forces the writer to achieve a degree of thoughtfulness (Atul Gawande Quotes) You know, 97 percent of the time, if you come into a hospital, everything goes well. But three percent of the time, we have major complications (Atul Gawande Quotes) I think the extreme complexity of medicine has become more than an individual clinician can handle. But not more than teams of clinicians can handle (Atul Gawande Quotes) No one teaches you how to think about money in medical school or residency. Yet, from the moment you start practicing, you must think about it. You must consider what is covered for a patient and what is not (Atul Gawande Quotes) Life is choices, and they are relentless. No sooner have you made one choice than another is upon you (Atul Gawande Quotes) Outsiders tend to be the first to recognize the inadequacies of our social institutions. But, precisely because they are outsiders, they are usually in a poor position to fix them (Atul Gawande Quotes)

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