It's Full of Sandwiches

By Gerald Irwin MD

The practice of Medicine and hospital
care has changed drastically in the
sixty three years since doctor Irwin
began his career. Things we know now
were impossible at that time. Hospitals
were run quite differently. We are all
aware of Medicare and the proposed
complicated changes in the coming
medical plans proposed in Congress.
This book will take you back to a more
simple time and give you a look at
how things were sixty plus years ago.
Both sad and funny things happened
in the hospital and in General practice
and are all related in this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 12, 2013
• ISBN: 9781481758918

Gerald Irwin MD

Gerald Irwin is a retired Professor of Radiology at SUNY Stony Brook, NY, He received his MD, CM degrees at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario. During his academic career he has published many scientifi c articles, book reviews and abstracts. He recently published a childrens book entitled “Harry the Spider and his Friend Charlie”. His new book “It’s Full of Sandwiches” describes sad and funny incidences which occurred during his time as a family doctor and then his long years in academic medicine. He is currently writing a love story entitled”Shaggy dog and Mrs. Mole.”

Book preview

It’s Full of

Sandwiches

Gerald Irwin MD

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AuthorHouse™

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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© 2013 by Gerald Irwin MD. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 06/07/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4817-5823-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-5825-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-5891-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013910319

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

INTERNSHIP

HOUSE DOCTOR—TO GENERAL PRACTICE

RESIDENCY

PRIVATE RADIOLOGY

THE CARE AND FEEDING OF RESIDENTS

A NEW CAREER

INTRODUCTION

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Hospitals and the practice of Medicine 60 plus years ago were quite different than they are today. This is the story of my experiences both in the hospital and private practice as it was at that time. All the stories are true with only a few names changed to protect the people involved.

Many years ago the doctor was respected, trusted, and patients felt their physician could do no wrong. Patients obeyed the doctor’s instructions with no doubts or questions. There was no Hospital or medical insurance and almost no hospital regulation or government inspection or oversight. Detailed rules and regulations govern how hospitals must be run today, from State regulation, to four year reviews by the Joint Commission, which approve the hospital for continuation of Medicare reimbursement. If a facility does not pass the joint Commission inspection it is in severe trouble and can lose its Medicare license to operate and may have to close. Occurrences in the hospital did not get into the news at that time, however now any untoward incident must be reported to the State Department of Health. Malpractice suits were almost unheard of.

We were all good doctors doing our best without any of the advanced tools that we have today. Antibiotics were limited to 2 or 3 drugs; x-ray was just becoming a useful tool. There was no sonography, CT, or MR. Nuclear medicine was in its infancy and Radiation Therapy was not nearly as advanced as it is today. This then is the background for the following stories. All the following events took place in the frame work of years ago and could not happen in today’s environment.

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INTERNSHIP

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Medical school graduation had been 3 weeks ago. My wife Iris and I drove home from Kingston, Ontario in an old 1947 Pontiac with a worn automatic transmission. Our few possessions (mainly books and old 78 records) were tied on an open trailer we bought for ten dollars from a local farmer. It had formerly been used to haul manure, and we left dreadful odors and smells along the way as we traveled down the NY Thruway to Queens on Long Island. We had very little money and when we suffered a blown out tire and had to buy a new one, we almost exhausted our very small cache of cash.

So with the car leaking oil and transmission fluid and bringing the smell of manure from Canada we arrived in Queens, very tired, broke, and with no place to stay. After a small loan from my parents who were visiting friends on Long Island after graduation, we found a small apartment in Hollis and settled in.

I had obtained a rotating Internship at Meadowbrook Hospital in East Meadow Nassau County. Established in 1935, it was the largest hospital in Nassau, run and owned by the County. The hospital was a good teaching center with residencies in all disciplines, and primarily served the poor of the county.

After a few free days setting up our apartment, I reported for orientation along with a large group of newly graduated doctors and after about 15 minutes of instructions was called out by the Superintendent to inform that he had received a phone call that my father had suddenly died of a hemorrhagic stroke that morning. My parents were staying with friends on the eastern end of Long Island and father passed away there. The funeral was held in Hollis as that was where he had previously lived and spent his years as a General Practitioner.