Working Stiff book ch 1-6 PDF

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Pizzella 1 Olivia Pizzella Dr. Hartnett-McCann Working Stiff Questions Chapter 1-6 1/25/20

Chapter 1. Dr. Melinek talks about the utter exhaustion she felt while training to be a surgeon. She discusses simple mistakes, nearly killing a patient with 200 units of insulin when she only wanted to order 20 units. Dr. Melinek discusses fainting on the job after a 36hour shift. How hazardous is it to patients facing the hands of an exhausted surgeon? Are doctors killing patients because of lack of sleep? Chapter 2. Dr. Melinek discusses documentation during an autopsy. She remarks that if a dead man “lost the tip of a finger in a supermarket cart accident when he was eight-years old,” it better be in the report. She claims if she misses a single scar the validity of the entire death investigation can be put into doubt. After reading this book and understanding the time and effort put into each investigation, do you think validity should be questioned regarding such minute details? Chapter 3. After losing her father to suicide, Dr. Melinek declares suicide a selfish act. In chapter 3, she discusses her first investigation of a suicide- a man dying of cancer, who writes his wife a suicide note, then slashes his own throat. After reading this book, do you view suicide as a selfish or cowardly act? Did your opinion stay the same, or change after the reading? If it did change, in what manner, and why? Chapter 4. Some things are better left unsaid. Dr. Melinek’s advice that “you don’t want to know” applies to stories of terrible death for family members or the faint of heart. In the case of a loved one being killed, or over-dosing, or even worse, taking their own life, the details-

Pizzella 2 the “how do you know for sure,” and the “did they suffer, or go fast” must be met with professionalism and respect for both the living and the deceased. Sometimes grieving people have a hard time swallowing the truth and they are persistent when not heeding the signs that the truth will hurt them even more. Would you insist on hearing the gruesome details of a loved one’s death? If faced with a tragic situation would you want to know if your loved one suffered? Chapter 5. Dr. Melinek is doing compelling work and most of us cannot relate to her position. However, her anecdotes and almost informal writing connect us emotionally to her and the families of the “bodies.” She gives us a sense of being a normal person, depicting her emotions, frustrations, and humor, really making us feel like we could be her one day, or at least connect in some manner to her daily, hectic routine. In chapter five she introduces Mrs. Ward, a woman who refuses to believe her son died of an overdose. Mrs. Ward is persistent, and Dr. Melinek continuously takes time out of her day to kindly, without gross details, explain that the son did not die from bad sushi. What level of patience is required in a position such as Dr. Melinek’s? How would you personally handle the frustration of a family member, especially when you are so busy? Chapter 6. Dr. Melinek’s version of everyday life becomes vivid and personified. I could smell the smells, visualize the scenery, and feel the emotions, much different then what we see on television. Everything is so clean on tv, so kosher. Everyone is dressed in heels and suits, not masks and scrubs. The rooms are sterile, sleek, and pretty looking on tv, not a disgusting body fluid, bug-filled, dark, cold place like reality. Dr. Melinek describes the truth- the maggots, the smells, the colors, the blood, the swelling, the rigorous mortis. Does

Pizzella 3 her vivid description of parmesan cheese (89), turn your stomach, or have you turning the pages of the book in awe? Explain your stance....