Abraham Verghese Quotes, Destiny Quotes, Omission Quotes

Not only our actions, but also our omissions, become our destiny.

5 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Abraham Verghese Quotes , Destiny Quotes , Omission Quotes

What we need in medical schools is not to teach empathy, as much as to preserve it. The process of learning huge volumes of information about disease, of learning a specialised language, can ironically make one lose sight of the patient one came to serve; empathy can be replaced by cynicism.

5 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Abraham Verghese Quotes , School Quotes , Sight Quotes

There are moments as a teacher when I'm conscious that I'm trotting out the same exact phrase my professor used with me years ago. It's an eerie feeling, as if my old mentor is not just in the room, but in my shoes, using me as his mouthpiece.

5 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Abraham Verghese Quotes , Teacher Quotes , Years Quotes

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

5 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Abraham Verghese Quotes , Writing Quotes , Cutting Quotes

Pray tell us, what's your favorite number?

5 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Abraham Verghese Quotes , Math Quotes , Numbers Quotes

He had so many ways of climbing into the tree house in his head, escaping the madness below, and pulling the ladder up behind him.

5 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Abraham Verghese Quotes , Climbing Quotes , Escaping Quotes

The most important innovation in medicine to come in the next 10 years: the power of the human hand.

5 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Abraham Verghese Quotes , Motivation Quotes , Inspiration Quotes

You live it forward, but understand it backward.

5 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Abraham Verghese Quotes , Life Quotes

My sense is that the wonderful technology that we have to visualize the inside of the body often leaves physicians feeling that the exam is a waste of time and so they may shortchange the ritual.

5 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Abraham Verghese Quotes , Technology Quotes , Feelings Quotes

She died chasing greatness and never saw it each time it was in her hand, so she kept seeking it elsewhere, but never understood the work required to get it or to keep it.

5 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Abraham Verghese Quotes , Greatness Quotes , Hands Quotes

In America, we have always taken it as an article of faith that we 'battle' cancer; we attack it with knives, we poison it with chemotherapy or we blast it with radiation. If we are fortunate, we 'beat' the cancer. If not, we are posthumously praised for having 'succumbed after a long battle.'

5 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Abraham Verghese Quotes , Cancer Quotes , Taken Quotes

I think America is really in denial about the degree to which residents, particularly foreign medical graduates, man the county hospitals of this country, and but for their services, I'm not sure how exactly we could manage.

5 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Abraham Verghese Quotes , Country Quotes , Thinking Quotes

No matter what ailed you, you went to see the barber surgeon who wound up cupping you, bleeding you, purging you. And, oh yes, if you wanted, he would give you a haircut and pull your tooth while he was at it.

5 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Abraham Verghese Quotes , Giving Quotes , Teeth Quotes

We're losing a ritual. We're losing a ritual that I believe is transformative, transcendent, and is at the heart of the patient-physician relationship.

5 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Abraham Verghese Quotes , Motivation Quotes , Believe Quotes

God will judge us, Mr. Harris, by--by what we did to relieve the suffering of our fellow human beings. I don't think God cares what doctrine we embrace.

5 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Abraham Verghese Quotes , Thinking Quotes , Judging Quotes

This is my life, I thought...I have excised the cancer from my past, cut it out; I have crossed the high plains, descended into the desert, traversed oceans, and planted my feet in new soil; I have been the apprentice, paid my dues, and have just become master of my ship. But when I look down, why do I see the ancient, tarred, mud-stained slippers that I buried at the start of the journey still stuck to my feet?

5 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Abraham Verghese Quotes , Cancer Quotes , Ocean Quotes

That's the funny thing about America--the blessed thing. As many people as there are to hold you back, there are angels whose humanity makes up for all the others. I've had my share of angels.

5 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Abraham Verghese Quotes , Thank You Quotes , Blessed Quotes

Being the first born gives you great patience.

5 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Abraham Verghese Quotes , Giving Quotes , Firsts Quotes

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

5 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Abraham Verghese Quotes , Physicians Quotes , Reform Quotes

To be around someone whose self-confidence is more than what our first glance led us to expect is seductive.

5 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Abraham Verghese Quotes , Self Confidence Quotes , Seductive Quotes