In our twelfth Medicine 360 podcast, the distinguished neurosurgeon and author, Henry Marsh, talks with Dr Ishminder Mangat. Henry discusses his career and writings, his transition from doctor to patient, and his changing understanding of his own mortality -- as well as what good writing is, how (and when and to what extent) books may help medical students, and the joys of e-cargo bikes.
He talks about why he chose to be so candid about his own flaws and failures in his writing, and what inspired him to take up neurosurgery; and about the difficulty doctors experience in striking the right balance of empathy and detachment in relation to patients; and about what good writing is.
Henry Marsh, CBE, FRCS, is the author of the best-selling Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery (2014), Admissions: A Life in Brain Surgery (2017), and And Finally (2022). Do No Harm was translated into over thirty languages. He is also one of the founders of Hospice Ukraine, a charity which supports palliative care in that country. (If you enjoyed the podcast, please consider a donation.)
This podcast is hosted by Dr Ishminder Mangat, a junior doctor in Bristol interested in exploring the links between medicine and the humanities.