“The series of books by Atul Gawande is not only for medical professionals, but for anyone who wants to understand what modern medicine looks like,” says Dr Justyna Godlewska-Szyrkowa, Vice Dean for Student Affairs at the UW’s Faculty of Medicine in the first episode of the fifth series of “Read with the UW”. We present a new edition of the series, recorded in faculty libraries.

Justyna Godlewska-Szyrkowa holds a doctoral degree in political science. From 2016 to 2020, she served as Vice Dean for Student Affairs at the UW’s Faculty of Political Science and International Studies. From 2020 to 2024, she was the dean’s representative for curriculum reform.

For the past two years, she has served as Vice Dean for Student Affairs at the UW’s Faculty of Medicine.

A surgeon with passion

Atul Gawande is an American surgeon, Harvard professor, and acclaimed author of books on medicine and public health. He combines clinical practice with journalism and systemic activity, promoting patient safety and a humanistic approach to medical care. He has been influencing the improvement of healthcare quality around the world for years.

In his books, Atul Gawande combines his personal experiences as a surgeon with his talent for storytelling, presenting medicine as a deeply human field – full of mistakes, trials, victories, and failures. He writes about the imperfections of science, the search for better solutions, the diligence and responsibility that can change patients’ lives, as well as the dignity of experiencing the final stages of life. Each of his books develops a different dimension of the issues, but together they form a whole that inspires reflection, teaches humility, and captivates with its clarity.

A tetralogy with medicine in the background

In the “Read with the UW” series, Dr Justyna Godlewska-Szyrkowa presented four books by Atul Gawande: Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science, The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance, and Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End.

“Each of these books is a separate whole, but in my opinion, they form a kind of series that shows medical issues – the role of the doctor, the healthcare system, and the most difficult social problems related to illness, suffering, aging, and dying – in an absolutely fascinating way,” emphasises Dr Godlewska-Szyrkowa.

Gawande contrasts technologically advanced, highly specialised modern medicine with the need for empathy and awareness of one’s own limitations. He shows doctors as experts who are still human beings  –  prone to mistakes and often working under time pressure.

Medicine at the end of life

Particularly moving is the book devoted to aging and dying, which Dr Godlewska-Szyrkowa describes as the most humanistic in the author’s oeuvre, adding: “In Being Mortal, the author emphasises that medicine can be helpless, that it cannot always cure, but it can help people live out the last stage of their lives with dignity and support – not only from doctors, but also from other social institutions.”

Being Mortal is a story not only about the limits of medicine, but also about the deeply human need to accompany another person in extreme situations. It is a book that opens up a discussion about the palliative side of care, about relationships, about shared responsibility, and about the fact that humanistic sensitivity is just as important as clinical knowledge.

Teamwork

Gawande emphasises that in a world of intense work pace, sudden decisions, and time pressure, it is the ability to work in a team that determines patient safety.

“Reading his books encourages us to think about how to prepare medical students – not only for independent clinical work, but also for responsible cooperation, communication, and the conscious use of the competencies of others,” says Dr Justyna Godlewska-Szyrkowa.

Books by Atul Gawande broaden the perspective of both medical professionals and anyone who wants to better understand how medicine really works and the enormous challenges faced by those who practice it.