Country Doctor: A Memoir

By Ben Dlin

Book Overview

Starting with his first patient, a horse, Ben Dlin discovered that rural doctors are called upon to do things that he never dreamed of when he was an intern.

"I learned that I had to be prepared to do anything, any time and any place, without regard for the hour, the inconvenience, the exhaustion and the absence of assistance."

Set in the post-war period of the 1940s and early 50s, Dlin recounts the responsibility of being the one person who is called upon in emergencies to make split-second decisions that can impact patients and their families for life. "I believed then and I still believe now that every student of medicine should spend time in rural practice. It is the place to discover what you're made of. But more importantly, it is the best place to learn the profession. Within the novice it creates a lifelong humanistic approach to medicine that remains no matter what specialty is pursued."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0920576850
• ISBN13: 9780920576854
• Release Date: November 2000
• Publisher: Caitlin Press
• Length: 262 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Highly Recommended

This book is a gem. It is published by an obscure publisher, and is a diamond in the rough. The author must be a remarkable person. He ends up becoming a psychiatrist, and it shows: his memoir is written with compassion and insight. It is one of the best medical memoirs I've ever read (I read a lot!) The book was full of substance (sometimes these memoirs are very light, and can be read in a couple of hours. Not this book.) But I have to emphasize that I thought it was a page-turner and I could *not* put it down. I don't usually write reviews but took the time to do so for this book because I thought it was so extraordinary.

pioneer of public health in addition to country doctor

Many people do not know that Dr Dlin in addition to his abilities as a doctor, veternarian, dentist etc. was perhaps an unwitting pioneer in the area of "Public Health Crisis Management". The complete story is detailed in the book about a health crisis that threateded to wipe out an amimal (instead of human) community. Dr. Dlin's intervention pre-saged the operations of the modern day M.A.S.H unit - or better, (I'm not sure of the exact name) National Health - Contageous Disease (CDC? - in Atlanta) Center's emergency protocols that have only been in existance for perhaps the last 30 years or so. To whit: Isolation and triage of the sick; team approach (in this case he drafted the local community); assembly line (lined up the animals in rows - each with a nurse/caretaker); got people to bring commercial oxygen cylinders from throughout the community (most farmers had oxygen tanks for welding); Dr.Dlin brought anitbiotics, face masks and other emergency materials in bulk from the local (clinic/hospital?). Then, training everyone in the necessary emergency procedures and building bonfires all around the "operating theatre" for both heat and light through the night (no electric lights then) brought the whole herd thru the crsis losing only the animals who were already dead before Dr. Dlin's intervention - quite simply, as remarkable a "generalship" as any war story I've ever read. There are many other lessons in the book which I feel every medical student in the country would do well to learn - plus these stories are fascinating to the laynan.

Country Doctor review

Ben Dlin's book gave me a real sense of what life would be like growing up in post-World War II rural Canada. His descriptions are so true to life that they run the gamut, from allowing you to smell the delicious scent of his mother's fresh pastries to visualizing the many primitive medical procedures he had to improvise. From the woman with the gigantic stomach tumor that turned out to be constipation caused by her ingesting glass, stones, and other materials which he had to remove manually, to the "ice pick" lobotomy for mental illness, which today could be simply treated by medication, Dlin's description is uncanny. He sets forth in a non-clinical way his struggles to be admitted and graduate from medical school with its highly limited admissions and the medical help he had to give against sub-zero temperatures with little or no medical supplies. He even relates the medical advice and remedies he learned from his mother as a child and utilized them into his practice.And it's not just people that Ben Dlin took care of but also animals with all kinds of different ailments from broken legs to pregnancy.The life of this country doctor and his warm, sometimes humorous, and always sincere relationship with his family, friends, co-workers, and patients provides a wonderful depiction of a rural country doctor's practice and the challenges he must meet on a day-to-day basis.

This Isn't Your Typical Shrink.....

This is not a book about how to practice medicine. It is a book about the making of a healer. A doctor such as this we should all be fortunate enough not to just know, but to experience. He is totally a man of compassion, humor, logic and deep commitment. Although he started out writing so his grandchildren would know more about their family, he reveals much more than a litany of who begot who. His struggles with learning, patience, discipline (even how to fight!) are shared and full of wise advice and wonderful storytelling. Please, if you are even thinking about going into medicine, let alone psychiatry, read this memoir.

Medicine and the Man; Humor and Philosophy

Country Doctor is a fascinating insight into rural medicine and the author. From a small,frontier-like town in Central Canada to his on-going psychiatric practice in Philadelphia,PA, his story is filled with hilarious adventures as Dr Dlin makes his way through childhood,adolescence and adulthood. It also touches on the anti-semitism in rural Canada. Country Doctor is a very personal story that also traces the history of medical care to the present day. As a country doctor,he served a population of 10,000 people,scattered over about 2,500 square miles of farm,bush,and foothills often accesible only by horse or snowshoes. This coming of age book deals with the universal problems and pleasures of life. What is evident throughout his story is his humanity,respect and care of all.Even the farm animals. It is a healthy balanced and humorous book,sprinkled with his philosophy and views about God,abortion,life,death,miracles and the soul. You will meet fascinating people and hilarious situations as he "does his rounds" and grows.He is still growing. Dr Dlin concludes his memoir with scathing criticism of present day medical care,as dictated by HMO's and insurance companies,who hold both doctor and patient "hostage." The doctor becomes the "facilitator" and the "provider" for the insurance companies,rather than an advocate for his patients.This is a profound loss for both doctor and patient. There is much depth,intelligence,wit,humor and compassion in Country Doctor.Anyone with a curiosity about life and a thirst for adventure will enjoy this memoir.