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A Surgeon and a Teacher: New Book Addresses Nature of Doctor/Patient Relationships

Posted on: Wednesday, 29 November 2006, 15:01 CST

FOSTER CITY, Calif., Nov. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Diane Anderson Harvey, Ph.D. questions the methods in which medical professionals approach their patients in the true story of a professor and her surgeon, "Doctor, Patient, Object, Thing: A Story About a Surgeon and a Teacher" (now available through AuthorHouse).

The patient is a successful professor who develops a form of skin cancer of the vulva. The cancer and the ensuing vulvectomy link the professor with a young, charismatic and talented surgeon. The surgeon is also Chinese, which connects the professor's current life as an international educator in China with her new role as a patient.

Initially, the professor and surgeon hit it off, but it soon becomes clear that their approaches to life are quite different. The professor has spent her life encouraging the development of minds and souls and adding something positive to the lives of others, while the surgeon has spent his life excising disease from bodies and removing negative aspects from others' lives.

When complications occur after the surgery, the surgeon withdraws all interpersonal aspects of their relationship in order to focus solely on the problem. The professor is astounded to discover that she has not only become just a body, but an object to which the surgeon must attend. Wounded in both body and soul, the professor attempts to deal with the increasingly problematic relationship as she is demoted from patient to object to thing.

The professor recovers from her hurt through her family's support and decides that she must try to reconcile with the surgeon. She approaches him, and they soon take on the new roles of teacher and student as she introduces a less hurtful way of relating as doctor and patient. She also investigates the environment surrounding doctors that allows them to think about patients in such a mechanical sense and discovers that, in the end, the surgeons are in danger of becoming objects and things themselves.

Harvey began her teaching career at age 14, teaching creative dramatics and swimming in San Diego. At age 21, after teaching elementary school for a year, she became a master teacher for California Western University. She then earned a doctorate in philosophy from Stanford University. After graduation, she taught at Menlo College in addition to holding various administrative positions. Her experiences after an unexpected and unusual surgery led to the writing of this book and a move from formal academia to motivational speaking. Harvey is currently using her teaching and speaking experience to create several seminar series through her seminar organization, Life Journey Seminars. "Doctor, Patient, Object, Thing" is her first book, and she is currently working on the sequel. More information can be found at http://www.doctorpatientstory.com/.

AuthorHouse is the premier publishing house for emerging authors and new voices in literature. For more information, please visit http://www.authorhouse.com/.

EDITORS: For review copies or interview requests, contact: Promotional Services Department Tel: 888-728-8467 Fax: 812-961-3133 Email: pressreleases@authorhouse.com (When requesting a review copy, please provide a street address.)

This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com/.

AuthorHouse

CONTACT: AuthorHouse Promotional Services Department, +1-888-728-8467,Fax: +1-812-961-3133, Email: pressreleases@authorhouse.com

Web site: http://www.authorhouse.com/http://www.doctorpatientstory.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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