Atul Gawande Quotations

The definition of what it means to be dying has changed radically. We are able to extend people's lives considerably, including sometimes, good days.

Man is fallible, but maybe men are less so.

These are folks that keep people out of hospitals, out of emergency rooms, out of nursing homes. And not only that, they help people achieve more fulfilling lives.

If the conversation people think is coming is the 'death panel' conversation, that's a total failure.

When we lived in a society where we had large families that lived together, especially in agricultural societies like my grandfather and father grew up in, the result is you always had family around to take care of you.

If I became just a brain in a jar - as long as I can communicate back and forth with people, that would be okay with me.

Our ideas of what our priorities are shift as we come face-to-face with some of the struggles.

When I do an operation, it's half a dozen people. When it goes beautifully, it's like a symphony, with everybody playing their part.

Expertise is the mantra of modern medicine.

This is the reality of intensive care: at any point, we are as apt to harm as we are to heal.