Abraham Verghese Quotes & Sayings (Page 3)

“I'm the first to admit that the resolution of a hand feeling the belly doesn't compare with the resolution of a CAT scan scanning the belly, but only my hand can say that it hurts at this spot and not at this spot. Only my hand can say that.”

“My desire to be a physician had a lot to do with that sense of medicine as a ministry of healing, not just a science. And not even just a science and an art, but also a calling, also a ministry.”

“There's something universal about illness... Whether you like it, at some level all patients are saying, 'Daddy, Mommy, help me, tell me it's going to be alright.'”

“By visiting patients in their home, by helping them come to terms with their illness, I could heal when I could not cure.”

“Lets take away the incentives to do 'to' patients and instead create incentives to do 'for' patients, to be 'with' patients. We don't need to do comparative effectiveness trials to see if that works; we can just ask patients.”

“You can't show up at the bedside and then turn on your skills. You have to keep your game sharp all the time.”

“In writing, as in medicine, there are no short cuts. You need stamina.”

“Though I am fascinated by knowledge, I am even more fascinated by wisdom.”

“So I consider myself a dog person. Kind of. Had dogs when I was a kid, but my parents would never have dreamed of having them in the house.”

“The bottom line: health care reform is about the patient, not about the physician.”