Have Scalpel - Will Travel

Book excerpt: Locum tenens medicine is the practice of medicine by a duly licensed and credentialed physician who takes the place of another physician who must be temporarily away from his or her place of practice. The author of this book was a locum tenens surgeon for the last seventeen years of his career, providing temporary coverage on over 240 occasions at some 74 hospitals in 18 states. This book is a collection of human–interest stories of nearly one hundred interesting patients he cared for during this period. The stories range from tragedies to triumphs, humorous human foibles, and uplifting happy endings. EndorsementsHave Scalpel –– Will Travel. For a surgeon, it's an alternate lifestyle that is little known in our country. As in the military, the locum tenens life is more than a job, it's an adventure: doing as much as one can with what is readily available to you. One is always deployed, though within the United States, always serving a true need. This book is a must–read for physicians and surgeons––both current and future––as well as members of the general public. – Peter M. Rhee, MD, FACSChief of Trauma, Acute Care Surgery, and Critical Care Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, New York Author of Trauma Red (the story of how he helped save Congress woman, Gabby Giffords)