Published: July 10, 2011
Words: 95,457 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9780956911926

Short description

When friends and colleagues learn that I had worked in Arabia for ten years, they throw up their hands in horror. This book will change their minds and hopefully will contribute towards better understanding between the West and Muslims and Arabs .

Extended description

Scalpel in the Sand
Scalpel in the Sand is an autobiographical account of a young surgeon during his ten years (1979 – 89) working in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
His time in Arabia coincided with the expansion of medical and surgical care in the country. He worked within the environment of an ultra-modern hospital with state-of -the-art facilities, the Riyadh Military Hospital. He had to adapt to the very different epidemiology of surgical diseases of a Middle Eastern country. There were many opportunities to participate in innovative and challenging projects and activities:
1. The kidney transplant service achieved international renown;
2. The nutrition support service was the first comprehensive and hospital-wide service in the Middle East; (Read more) Scalpel in the Sand
Scalpel in the Sand is an autobiographical account of a young surgeon during his ten years (1979 – 89) working in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
His time in Arabia coincided with the expansion of medical and surgical care in the country. He worked within the environment of an ultra-modern hospital with state-of -the-art facilities, the Riyadh Military Hospital. He had to adapt to the very different epidemiology of surgical diseases of a Middle Eastern country. There were many opportunities to participate in innovative and challenging projects and activities:
1. The kidney transplant service achieved international renown;
2. The nutrition support service was the first comprehensive and hospital-wide service in the Middle East;
3. The seminal research of the Riyadh Intensive Care Program on futility in intensive care caught the medical world’s attention.
4. Setting up the Major Disaster Response Plan for the King Khaled International Airport, Riyadh which was put to use in the First Gulf War.
The book is a time capsule of a period, twenty years ago, when great changes were taking place in Saudi Arabia. The stories of his close and daily encounters among, and interaction with, the local people, colleagues, students, patients, and members of the Saudi royal family provides observations of a way of life and a culture very different from what is familiar in the West.
He presents a view that is often contrary to the conventional wisdom of the West and in so doing he hopes to adjust perceptions that will bridge the gap between the West and the Muslim Arab peoples
The author had the privilege of teaching the first group of women doctors to graduate providing a rare opportunity to make observations of the issues confronting Saudi women in their struggle for emancipation, their ‘green shoots’ of success and their continuing problems.
‘Back to Beginnings’ is a stand-alone chapter at the end of the book which puts the author in context: his family background, growing up in the mixed cultures of colonial Malaya, relocation to the UK for his medical and surgical training.

What is the Chang sign in kidney transplant?
What has kidney transplantation to do with motorway design?
Can you imagine the author as a Saudi Arabian prince?
What converted the author to holistic medicine?
What ethical issues were encountered as a surgeon in Arabia?
How does one survive ten years in a Saudi Arabian hospital?
What happened at the Mecca Siege?
How do Saudi Arabians behave in formal and informal occasions?
How does a surgeon become a marketing guru?
How to capture the Middle Eastern market in enteral nutrition?
Why is the prediction of death more useful than the prediction of survival?
What is Saudi champagneWhat is Sidiki?
What are the ingredients of a hospital’s Major Disaster Response Plan?
To satisfy your curiosity, read “Scalpel in the Sand”
(Less)

Tags

surgery, feminism, islam, culture, saudi arabia

Available ebook reading formats

Single purchase gains access to all formats. How to download ebooks to e-reading devices and apps.

Format	Full Book	Sample First 30%
Online Reading (HTML, good for sampling in web browser)	Buy	View sample
Kindle (.mobi for Kindle devices and Kindle apps)	Buy	Download sample
Epub (Apple iPad/iBooks, Nook, Sony Reader, Kobo, and most e-reading apps including Stanza, Aldiko, Adobe Digital Editions, others)	Buy	Download sample
PDF (good for reading on PC, or for home printing)	Buy	No sample available
RTF (readable on most word processors)	Buy	No sample available
LRF (Use only for older model Sony Readers that don't support .epub)	Buy	Download sample
Palm Doc (PDB) (for Palm reading devices)	Buy	Download sample
Plain Text (download) (flexible, but lacks much formatting)	Buy	No sample available
Plain Text (view) (viewable as web page)	Buy	No sample available

Reviews

Log-in to write a Review   Log-in to add a Video Review

Review by: Vicki Julian on April 17, 2013 :
It is a pleasant and rare discovery to find a book that not only entertains, but also educates. Such is the case with Dr. Chang’s thoroughly engaging work, Scalpel in the Sand, which primarily focuses on his memoirs of being a surgeon in Saudi Arabia. While I expected to learn something of the middle eastern culture, I was additionally treated to a wealth of easy to understand medical procedures and processes ranging from transplants to diagnostics. As a bonus, Dr. Chang includes his personal family background, his experiences in pursuit of a medical degree in London, and the circumstances that enabled him to spend a decade in Saudi Arabia to become a gifted surgeon and physician. I highly recommend this to others to read it for enjoyment and to learn something new!
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Reason for report:
— Select a reason — Book is or contains spam Book infringes copyright Same content is published elsewhere with different author (for ex., by private-label rights) Duplicate Incomplete work (such as sample or serial) Should be marked adults-only Category is inappropriate Poorly formatted Nudity or other inappropriate content on cover Nudity or other inappropriate visual content in book Inappropriate erotica content Cover image is improper Content is inappropriate Other violation of Terms of Service Other reason not shown above.

Additional details: