In this book, Dr Awdish shares a personal story, as a physician and as a patient. At 7 months pregnant, and still in her residency, she experienced catastrophic pain in her abdomen. She describes the experience of transitioning from being a physician to being a patient; from being the diagnostician to being diagnosed and unheard in a world of assumptions. Because she was pregnant and her pain was abdominal, she was told she needed to go to Labor and Delivery, even though she insisted she needed to be seen by a surgeon.

Interestingly, she had demanded to be taken to the hospital where she was doing her critical care rotation as a resident, thinking that she would be able to communicate her needs and wants effectively. By the time her hemoglobin level was down to 3.0 mg/dL, a surgeon was notified; however, as in all teaching hospitals, a first-year resident...

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