THE MAKING OF A COWBOY DOCTOR

In his debut memoir, Ver Steeg describes life as a determined doctor looking to maintain his professional independence.

Ver Steeg’s father told him at a young age, “If you want something badly enough, you’ll have to give it everything you’ve got.” The author’s father was keen on him becoming a sports star, but Ver Steeg’s interests leaned toward science and music. Deciding on a career that he could fall back on if he did not succeed as a professional jazz drummer, the author enrolled in pharmacy school at the University of Iowa. The memoir charts the author’s path to becoming a general surgeon working in private practice in Iowa, detailing his time spent studying at Northwestern University medical school in Chicago, a return to Iowa for his surgery internship, and a residency at Scott and White Hospital in Temple, Texas. Inspired by themes of “self-ownership” in Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, Ver Steeg strives to become his own boss. Having achieved his goal, the author chooses to wear “cowboy attire” in favor of a white coat, a symbol of his self-determination. Ver Steeg has a no-nonsense writing style and always shoots from the hip. The memoir exposes the pressures placed on private practices by “giant” medical groups and rails against bureaucracy impeding the delivery of quality health care. Referring to employees of one particular medical watchdog, he snarls: “I often wondered what sort of swamp creature would give up a practice to become a reviewer.” Ver Steeg’s descriptions of surgical procedures are equally unflinching: “A long incision was made into the abdomen. Blood was within the abdominal cavity, and a huge collection of blood was around the ruptured aneurysm.” The author also takes time to offer advice to fellow surgeons along the way: “If you do get an adrenalin rush, recover your wits first. Don’t try to work in a frightened state of mind and body.” The author’s terse style may not suit all readers, and a lack of embellishment results in a notably short memoir. Still, the author’s frank approach conveys to aspiring physicians the demands of the profession both inside and outside the operating room.

A laconic yet admirably forthright dissection of the health care system.