The Qi of the Scalpel

What is it like to use a scalpel for the first time? What do you do when your supervising surgeon instructs you to do something you think is wrong? What does it feel like when you first lose your first patient—or when you save your first patient? All this and more. In this medical memoir, one surgeon relates his experiences through many vignettes highlighting his many epiphanies, embarrassments, mistakes and successes. 

What is it like to use a scalpel for the first time? What do you do when your supervising surgeon instructs you to do something you think is wrong? What does it feel like when you first lose your first patient—or when you save your first patient? All this and more. In this medical memoir, one surgeon relates his experiences told using multiple vignettes and short anecdotes. You'll follow one doctor's journey from medical school to residency to fellowship to practice. An adventure story that relates both the highs and the lows, including the embarrassments and epiphanies, mistakes and successes, the errors made and the lessons learned, it paints a realistic picture of the medical and surgical practice using both honesty and humor.

Frank Seinsheimer III, M.D. is a graduate of Walnut Hills High School, Yale University and Harvard Medical School. He trained in General Surgery at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, in Orthopedic Surgery at the Harvard Combined Orthopedic Residency Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital and in Hand Surgery at the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. He spent almost 38 years in the private practice of orthopedic surgery and hand surgery in Montgomery County, Maryland. During that time, he and his wife, Lynne, worked in partnership caring for hand surgery patients. He has trained for many years in Martial Arts and holds Black Belts in Tae Kwon Do, Aikido and Jujitsu. Frank Seinsheimer has written three books. One, "Unarmed Defense Against Weapons," is a real-world approach to defense against weapon attacks and multiple person attacks. He is a keen observer and his second book, "Poetical Commentary," contains his commentary on life, the universe and everything. "The Qi of the Scalpel," details his medical and surgical career with commentary, insights and discussion.