The Real Life of a Surgeon: Candid Stories Along the Path from Student to Veteran Doctor »

Dr. Arthur Perry, MD, FACS, graduated from Rutgers College magna cum laude with high distinction in zoology and received his MD degree with distinction in research from the Albany Medical College of Union University in 1981. He then trained in general surgery at Harvard Medical School's Beth Israel Hospital and in burn surgery at the New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center. Following this, he trained in plastic surgery at the University of Chicago where he was Chief Resident in 1987.  His most recent book, Straight Talk About Cosmetic Surgery, was named ""Best Health Book of 2007"" by Foreword magazine. Dr. Perry is consistently named among the top doctors and cosmetic surgeons in the New York metro area by publications like New York Magazine.

The first time you have to deliver bad news to a family. The ""routine"" surgery that was anything but. That risk you took on the operating table that saved a coding patient. Every practicing surgeon has stories like these.

From med student to intern to practicing specialist, Real Life of a Surgeon traces the careers of these skilled professionals. With the risky nature of surgery, so much can be at stake, and emotions often run high. How do you tell a mother that her child didn't survive his surgery? When do you go against conventional wisdom to save a life? Because they see surgeons much more rarely than their usual doctors, people often perceive surgeons as remote figures, and tend to associate them with bad medical news. This anthology features first-person narratives from the students and doctors who have devoted their careers to this path, and offers an unblinking look at daily life in the field.

Other books in the Kaplan Voices: Doctors series will focus on internal medicine, psychiatry, oncology, geriatrics, and pediatrics, the most prominent specialties today.