• CLINICAL NEUROLOGY

Our neurology department book club recently discussed ‘In Shock’ by Dr Rana Awdish, a critical care physician practising in the USA. ‘In Shock’ describes Dr Awdish’s sudden transition from physician to patient caused by a major haemorrhage while pregnant. This sadly resulted in the loss of the child she was carrying and propelled her into multiorgan failure, requiring a lengthy intensive care admission, followed by many years of further surgeries. The book tells of her medical journey and how her experiences as a patient have made her a better doctor.

We were struck by the many examples of poor communication throughout the book. A particularly haunting episode came early on when an inexperienced obstetrics trainee asked, ‘Can you show me where you see that?’ in response to Dr Awdish’s agonising observation of the lack of fetal heartbeat on …