I make my patients feel like they're still part of life, part of some grand nutty scheme instead of alone with their diseases. With me, they still feel part of the human race. — Samuel Shem Copy Share Image
“We were putting into these gomers our fear of death, but who knew if they feared death? Perhaps they welcomed death like a dear long-lost cousin, grown old but still known, coming to visit, relieving the loneliness, the failing of the senses, the fury of the half-blind looking into the mirror and not recognizing who is looking back, a dear… — Samuel Shem Copy Share
“Paranoia's OK," said Berry, "it's just a more primitive defense. If you think someone's watching you, you think you're not alone.” — Samuel Shem Copy Share Image
“Law XIII. THE DELIVERY OF MEDICAL CARE IS TO DO AS MUCH NOTHING AS POSSIBLE” — Samuel Shem Copy Share Image
Yes, last year in interviewing. Empathy is when you repeat the last three words the patient says and nod your head. — Samuel Shem Copy Share Image
“Basch: So why don't you ask her out? The Runt: I'm scared she wouldn't like me and say no. -So what? What have you got to lose? -The possibility -if she says no- that she might have said yes. Whatever I do, I don't want to lose that possibility.” — Samuel Shem Copy Share
“Gomers are human beings who have lost what goes into being human beings. They want to die, and we will not let them.” — Samuel Shem Copy Share Image
“Every intern makes mistakes. The important thing is neither to make the same mistakes twice nor to make a whole bunch of mistakes all… — Samuel Shem Copy Share Image
There is no body cavity that cannot be reached with a number fourteen needle and a good strong arm. — Samuel Shem Copy Share Image
“I found myself thinking of Potts as a tragic figure, a guy who'd been a happy towheaded kid you'd love to take fishing with you, who'd mistakenly invested in academic medicine when he'd have been happy in his family business, and who'd become a splattered mess on the parking lot of a hospital in a city he'd despised. What had… — Samuel Shem Copy Share
“Life's like a penis; When it's soft you can't beat it; When it's hard you get screwed. - The Fat Man, Medical Resident in… — Samuel Shem Copy Share Image
