Hot Lights, Cold Steel: Life, Death and Sleepless Nights in a Surgeon’s First Years

Michael J. Collins, MD

Feb 2017 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by John Pruden

About this audiobook

When Michael Collins decides to become a surgeon, he is totally unprepared for the chaotic life of a resident at a major hospital. A natural overachiever, Collins's success, in college and medical school led to a surgical residency at one of the most respected medical centers in the world, the famed Mayo Clinic. But compared to his fellow residents Collins feels inadequate and unprepared. All too soon, the euphoria of beginning his career as an orthopedic resident gives way to the feeling he is a counterfeit, an imposter who has infiltrated a society of brilliant surgeons. This story of Collins's four-year surgical residency traces his rise from an eager but clueless first-year resident to accomplished Chief Resident in his final year. With unparalleled humor, he recounts the disparity between people's perceptions of a doctor's glamorous life and the real thing: a succession of run down cars that are towed to the junk yard, long weekends moonlighting at rural hospitals, a family that grows larger every year, and a laughable income.

Ratings and reviews

AÀA BOSS NETWORK

AAA

About the author

Michael J. Collins, MD, served as the chief resident in orthopedic surgery at the Mayo Clinic and is now a successful orthopedic surgeon. He is the author of the acclaimed medical memoir Hot Lights, Cold Steel. He lives in Hinsdale, Illinois.

John Pruden is a professional voice actor who records audiobooks, corporate and online training narrations, animation and video game characters, and radio and TV commercials. An AudioFile Earphones Award winner, John has a solid creative foundation from which to draw for his intelligent audiobook narrations.