"It was not just the blood and guts that enthralled me. It was the idea that a mere person would have the confidence to wield the scalpel in the first place . There is a saying about surgeons, meant as a reroof :" Sometimes wrong, never in doubt". But this seemed to me their strength."
"As patients, we want both expertise and progress. What nobody wants to face is that these are contradictory desires. In the words of one British public report, “There should be no learning curve as far as patient safety is concerned.” But that is entirely wishful thinking."