No Apparent Distress Summary

Words: 602
Pages: 3

After immersing myself in No Apparent Distress: A Doctor’s Coming-of-Age on the Front Lines of American Medicine by Dr. Rachel Pearson, I have reflected upon the depth of her struggles as an onboarding physician with patient interactions, character analysis, ethical dilemmas, and the social commentary of healthcare. Pearson includes vivid storytelling of her point of view through various medical stories, inviting readers to come face to face with the realities of being a healthcare professional. I began reading the book anticipating a collection of successful stories in which every patient survives a tale and Dr. Pearson is presented an accolade for her work, however through the end of the novel I found introspection in her work and began to explore my personal connection to the …show more content…
Whilst explaining the story, lasting only a few pages from the novel as a whole, as a reader I looked back at the prologue multiple times. I frequently revisited the story of Mr. Rose and often thought to myself how I would react if I missed a critical piece of a patient’s story which cost them their lives. One of the greatest parallels between my life and Pearson’s is this story and often feeling as if there is something more that could have been done when navigating through a loss, often a feeling universal to students of all ages. Dr. Rachel Pearson’s character arc through the novel shows incredible shifts and changes as she ages, initially starting with idealism of the world around her to a slow understanding that things aren’t always what they seem. Going from a wide-eyed medical student to a veteran physician marks her growth and dedication to providing quality care to her patients, even through hardship. A comparable juxtaposition lies in considering if her will was not as strong, where she would have ended up along the