In the Foothills of Medicine: A Young Doctor's Journey from the Inner City of Chicago to the Mountains of Nepal (Paperback)

~ Robert McKersie (Author)
Key Phrases: recording nurse, intern year, medical camp, United States, Harold Brown, Planned Parenthood (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In the Foothills of Medicine shares one doctor’s intriguing true story from the front lines of medicine. Dr. Robert McKersie writes vividly and passionately about the patients whom he saw, touched, and thought about during his intense inner city internship in family medicine and medical treks to remote villages in Nepal.

The book shelves are lined with memoirs, personal accounts, and narratives by young doctors, residents, and graduating medical students. In the Foothills of Medicine, written candidly in clear and simple prose that goes beyond the usual account of the experiences of becoming a physician, ranks far above the best. The power of the idealism explodes from the pages without once mentioning it. The sense of social responsibility and humanitarianism, the value conflicts, and the awareness of medicine’s imperfections are stated forthrightly. Most importantly, it is not only the story of a young doctor engrossed in his vocation, but a young man finding himself as a person.
—Edward J. Eckenfels, Emeritus Professor, Rush University Medical Center

McKersie has produced a marvelous memoir, fusing his journey to become a physician and his encounter with humanity in inner city Chicago and, yes, Nepal! Along the way, he rejects society s failure to provide vital health services, offering an alternative vision of solidarity and caring. The result: a thrilling and imaginative narrative, giving voice to an emerging physician leader.
—Dr. Quentin Young, Co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program, Former President of the American Public Health Association

About the Author

Dr. Robert McKersie is a family physician who works in the inner city on the South Side of Chicago. He travels regularly to Nepal where he volunteers his time as a doctor and teaches physical diagnostic skills to Nepalese healthcare providers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 270 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (October 12, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595363687
• ISBN-13: 978-0595363681
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #364,572 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars a very enjoyable book!, October 6, 2009

By	J. Lavoie (VT United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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I came across this book, as it's cover and it's partial title has to do with Nepal, a small and complex little country tucked below and within part of the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. (a great area of interest to me)

As the memoir of Dr. McKersie unfolds, he gives us sociology readers some of his most memorable and dearing times, while getting his degree in medicine in this remote region in the world. I'm glad he did, as so many Westerner's are unfamiliar with this little country, except for it's capital's title...Katmandu.
Even though he had no modern equipment available, he did the best he could with what he had brought with him from the States. And what excited me was the fact that regardless of having minimal of everything,(including electricity) he returned to this region, several times in his life. So I hope he will continue to do so in years to come. The people in this beautiful, remote countryside desirve all that Dr. McKersie has to offer them.

This book was mostly about his journal writing and letters of becoming a doctor (at a later age). As most Residents and Interns, all of the tireless n' gruesome hours at a hospital lasted longer than a 24 hour shift/work-day. I believe that by the end of his Residency in Chicago, he was putting in 100 hours a week! Much needed rest was his just reward!

He shares with us how easily he could and did become attached to his patients, encouraging them to keep up-to-date at least with the 'county' hospital in the area. He knew that so many of his patients were lacking medical care...care that they needed....as they did not have adequate or any health insurance at all. In many cases this caused fatalities. (And look at where we are in 2009.) He writes that by not attending to primary care, so many lives turned chronic or fatal, from not attending routine appointments. But I think most of us know what inadequate/expensive/or no health insurance does to us, with so many other everyday expenses taking the place of a routine checkup and follow-ups.

This doctor also revels how difficult it is for him to be the physician to inform a waiting room of family of a patient who has ended up in intensive care or in cases whereas the outcome was fatal for the patient. There were never the right words to explain those situations. Knowing he would have to meet this situation, he would work and work a patient's flat line to find some peaks, until it was obvious the line would never move again.

This was such an interesting book.
Anyone interested in reading about the hospital aspects of medical school, his treks to Nepal to help the most remote people, and his problems with his on personal relationships, all make this book a great read. It was quite enjoyable as he had so much to offer us, including a glossary of 'Medical Terms' in the back, as well as interesting black n' white photos.

From his relentlessness in medicine and for the care of people, regardless of where they live, I'm sure Dr. McKersie is doing fine and enjoying all that he does for others!

4.0 out of 5 stars The Foothills of Medicine...., May 9, 2006

By	Dr. Kevin Bennett (Columbia, SC) - See all my reviews

In his book "In the Foothills of Medicine," Dr. Robert McKersie takes the reader through his days training as a resident in Chicago. His descriptions of meaningful patient encounters illustrate the rigors of medical training, and its toll on the human psyche. Dr. McKersie's openness with his personal emotions during these encounters is in stark contrast to the clinical discussions of anatomy, disease progression, and health statistics. The dichotomy of these two styles gives the reader a unique insight into the mind of a physician, who must be systematic, rational, and detached in their medical diagnosing, all the while struggling with their own humanity and frailty. It is clear that Dr. McKersie learned not only how to heal patients more effectively during this time, but also learned how to heal his own wounds, and how to reconcile the conflicting emotions. These lessons were learned not just in the ICU, but in the waiting room and in the community at large.
These vignettes are bookended by descriptions of the author's travels in Nepal to support and train native medical providers. While those of us who live in the U.S. think of how underdeveloped many third-world nations are, the practice of medicine is not all that dissimilar. In fact, these Nepalese have greater access to healthcare services than many Americans do, as the socialized nature of Nepal's national health care system is open to all its citizens In contrast, Dr. McKersie's experiences detail how fractured the U.S. health care system truly is. For those who are earn too much to qualify for public assistance (in the form of Medicaid), not old enough for Medicare, or are too poor to afford private insurance, the system is tragically difficult to navigate. With so-called safety net facilities, like the one in Chicago Dr. McKersie trained in, these patients can seek care without concern for cost. Unfortunately, the preventive care and continuity of care necessary for disease management is not available to many. While the Nepalese struggle with supply, proximity, and availability of medical care, many Americans are surrounded by abundant supply that cannot be tapped without the requisite finances.
This book would be a good read not only for those contemplating entering the medical field and those already practicing medicine, but for anyone who has ever had to interact with the health care system. The author's insights give the reader an appreciation of the struggles of practicing medicine in the current environment, where red tape and financial concerns often take precedent over appropriate medical care. It is refreshing to see a physician continue to struggle with these conflicts, and strive to engender a desire in future physicians to continue the struggle as well.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Journey of Love, February 17, 2006

By	Regis Schilken "Rege" (Bethel Park, Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

From the Prologue to its final Dedication, Dr. Robert McKersie's book, In the Foothills of Medicine is not just a story of one man's legacy to heal his fellow man on opposite sides of the globe. It is an epic of courage, passion, enlightenment, inspiration and above all, a tale of human love.

Throughout each inspiring page, the reader can see an unspoken virtue in Dr. McKersie that he could never attribute to himself. Persons of his caliber are blind to their own goodness. He is a physician in love with the beauty of human existence.

In the beginning pages of In the Foothills of Medicine, Dr. McKersie writes of the nine hour automobile ride into India's magnificent Ganesh Mountains to a camp, from whence a hike of several days would walk him to the first medical clinic of Tipling. Mostly, he dismisses the discomforts endured himself, but consistently writes of the trials and courage of those carrying heavy clinical supplies and equipment over steeply inclined, seldom-trekked mountain footpaths. These precipitous ascents and descents in some places were so hazardous, that a misplaced footstep or loss of balance could result in a death-tumble of hundreds of feet.

So why does he travel regularly to these remote medical outposts and leave his practice in the United States? McKersie is a thorough idealist. In these remote mountains of Nepal he can practice medicine as it should be practiced. He can establish a relationship with patients, because they need help and because they are human and beautiful. Here, he does not worry about salary. Rather, he worries about curing infection, controlling tuberculosis, stabilizing diabetes or a failing heart, or epilepsy.

In Nepal he does not hassle over medical insurance. The mountains provide no such aid. Instead, he labors to mend a broken arm or leg, or to deliver a baby. Nor does he obsess about begging specialists to see poor or underprivileged patients free of charge. Instead, he and a handful of doctors and nurses are the "general" specialists. They provide what help they can, then counsel village family members on continuing care.

A half world away during part of each year, Dr. McKersie is a regular family physician doing his utmost to provide the same kind of personal health care to patients on the South Side of Chicago as in distant Nepal village medical clinics. But should that statement not be reversed? McKersie would say, "No!" He often feels frustrated here in the United States attempting to arrange needed health care for seriously ill patients lacking insurance. In addition, there is the ongoing struggle for affordable medicines for those without big bucks. In the end, people who cannot pay for health care in this country are tantamount to a Nepalese villager.

In the Foothills of Medicine is a fascinating story - an adventure that leaps from its pages as you follow one doctor's efforts to heal the sick and promote social change in two vastly different cultures: Nepal and the United States. His vision of the latter is simple: the US needs a vital health care system now, for every citizen regardless of income.

Dr. McKersie's tell-it-like-it-is memoir will grab your interest from its first page. This book is an outstanding read for everyone, but has a special message to those involved in health care. It is a critical document for every politician. It is my hope that readers of In the Foothills of Medicine will urge their congress women and men to live up to their social responsibility and not rest until vital health care is available to every United States citizen. Hats off to Doctor McKersie for his remarkable story.