Dr. Pauline Chen will discuss her book, “Final Exam: A Surgeon’s Reflections on Mortality,” at noon on Friday, Sept. 25, in the Long Campus auditorium. (Photo courtesy of Joanne Chan, photographer)
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Pauline W. Chen, M.D., a transplant surgeon who, in her memoir “Final Exam: A Surgeon’s Reflections on Mortality,” explores how doctors well-schooled in saving lives all too often must teach themselves to face death with empathy and compassion, will speak at noon on Friday, Sept. 25, in the auditorium of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

One Community/One Book project
Her visit is the culmination of the Health Science Center’s second-annual “One Community/One Book” program, a project of the Health Science Center Libraries, the Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics, and the University Transplant Center.

“It’s really just an opportunity to get together and have conversations that might not take place otherwise – to reflect a little bit more,” said Susan Hunnicutt, special projects librarian at the Health Science Center’s Briscoe Library. “The work can be very fast-paced, very demanding on lots of different levels. It’s nice to have a chance to step back, relax and be with people.”

Community book discussion format began in Seattle
The “One Book” concept was conceived at the Washington Center for the Book at the Seattle Public Library, where librarians Nancy Pearl and Chris Higashi in 1998 first began a citywide conversation centered on one carefully chosen book, “The Sweet Hereafter,” by Russell Banks. The concept was picked up by the Chicago Public Library and then by public libraries across the country.

“Then a lot of academic libraries picked up on the idea because they realized you can personalize the program through the selection of the book to the audience that you’re trying to reach,” Hunnicutt said.

Improving how physicians handle death and dying
The Health Science Center’s selection of “Final Exam” offers a good illustration. Dr. Chen, who writes the “Doctor and Patient” column in the New York Times, uses the memoir to recount her own experiences with death and to reflect on lessons learned. She takes an unflinching look at her own failures with dying patients and their families, and she examines recent improvements within the profession.

Small group discussions ongoing
John Littlefield, director of the Health Science Center’s Academic Center for Excellence in Teaching, trained facilitators to lead small-group discussions on the book. Gatherings have been scheduled both on and off campus throughout September and into October.

Class credit offered to students attending Dr. Chen’s lecture
The Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics lent considerable support to the project. The book was incorporated into the center’s popular “Literature and Medicine” elective for second- and fourth-year medical students. Students will receive class credit for attending Dr. Chen’s presentation.

Ruth Berggren, M.D., director of the Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics, hosted a book discussion in her home. Featuring a woman who is not only a transplant surgeon, author and highly regarded New York Times columnist, but also a mother, wife and humanitarian, “is a powerful way to show our trainees what they can achieve,” Dr. Berggren said.

“She upends many stereotypes about surgeons, writers, women and students,” Dr. Berggren said. “As such, her material makes a great starting point for meaningful conversations about what we do in medicine and how we can do a better job of conveying empathy to the people we serve.”

Presentation can be viewed at other campus locations
Dr. Chen’s presentation will be simulcast to the School of Health Professions Research Building and the South Texas Research Park in San Antonio; the Laredo Campus Extension; and the Medical Education Division of the Regional Academic Health Center in Harlingen. In addition to her noon discussion, Dr. Chen also will give a presentation at the Transplant Center’s grand rounds at 8 a.m. that day.

“One Community/One Book” is made possible in part by a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Last year, the university’s inaugural “One Community/One Book” selection was “Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World,” by Tracy Kidder.