Psychology of Biomedical Fiction

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Table of Contents

Interests of biomedical writers
The Biomedical Writers
Has American Literary tradition changed?
Cook’s reflections
Medical Mistakes in Fiction
The language of medical fiction
References

Biomedical fiction does have a lasting impact on human beings (Manfredini, 1999).

Stories on the television or in films have the capacity to become dramas beyond the reality of life. False presentations of the reality could actually be non-educational and harm general people. Some series showed people with arrhythmias being rescued within minutes through defibrillation and being discharged from hospital in an hour’s time (Manfredini, 1999). People have become so dependent on the television that they have a tendency to believe all that happens there. Medical activity is nothing like that depicted in it. It is mostly monotonous and hardly 10% of cases are emergencies. People come in and ask for a brain scan for simple headaches. Long waiting times for admission are part of real life situations.

Interests of biomedical writers

Biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, medicine, animal science, pharmacy, zoology are all subjects of interest for biomedical writers. Technical writers are interested in chemistry, engineering, computer science and management (Interests, Earthlink). The majority of biomedical writers use the experiences of their own professions in their writings. Their familiarity and depth of their knowledge of hospital incidents, about the medicines and pathological reports provide interesting reading for fans of such works. The chances of giving a more correct description of hospital incidents and the weaving of crimes into medical life cater to the fancies of the public (Interests, Earthlink). Details or secrets of the world of hospitals of which the common people know nothing about but would have liked to know are divulged in the form of crime thrillers, sharpening the knowledge of the readers and triggering their interest for more. Medicine, allied health professions, occupational therapy, nursing, dentistry, veterinary science, psychology and pharmacy have interesting aspects which the general public relishes (Interests, Earthlink). The relationships of the staff thrown together to treat patients with the possibility of romantic relationships is lapped up greedily. Incidents and new ideas allied to the professions of these biomedical writers are usually taken as the essence of their writings. Tales about pets may form part of the writings. Real life incidents generally help the writers. New inventions or discoveries could be built up into stories. Advances in animal health could be a topic selected (Interests, Earthlink).

The Biomedical Writers

Alan Maisel

Alan Maisel who is a doctor and Professor and Director of the Coronary Care unit in the VA Hospital has written many books. His wife is a dentist. His book, “Brain Chicane” is about a physician Stanley Ruben (Brain Chicane, 2003). He works in a multiple organ transplant hospital in Chicago. Stanley discovers a weird plot which aims at inflating the pockets of some of the organ transplant surgeons who adopt underhand tactics throwing ethics to the wind. The deceits occurring at multiple levels to increase the number of donors for the organs for transplant shock the doctor who goes all out to get to the root of the matter. His discovery of the two-timing attitude of the seemingly humanitarian bureaucracy brings out his idealistic views and he works to defeat the plot of those who should be saving lives. The doctor in Alan Maisel and his rich knowledge of the matter has helped him evolve a book very much sought after (Brain Chicane, 2003). “Bedside manners” (2001) is another book by Maisel which elaborates on the intricacy of hospital life. This captivating story is of Dr.Danny Ruskin whose patients are dying mysteriously and he is blamed for them. Maisel has done a god job.

Robert Kloner

Robert A. Kloner is the Professor of Medicine in the University of South California and Director of Research at the Heart Institute of Good Samaritan Hospital at Los Angeles (Mind Cure, 1998). In his book “Mind Cure”, Dr.David Myers, a heart specialist loses his faculties, family and position. A medical breakthrough is expected to cure him but there is a criminal who does not allow him to be cured. The writer, a heart specialist has used a contemporary for his story. One can expect plenty of factual information which would thoroughly interest the readers along with the crime element. In his book “The Beta Virus” (1996) an infectious disease specialist investigates an outbreak of pneumonia and finds a nemesis which takes the lives of young scientists. His discovery led to the possibility of dangerous consequences for mankind. Kloner’s other book, The Deity Genes (2001), speaks about the unknown parts of the Human Genome Project. The young man in this story tries to find out whether there is the element of the Supreme Being in all of us. A power-hungry villain tries to utilize some of the genes for his own

illegal purpose. Kloner has used the innovative Human Genome mapping for his story. Readers would be thrilled by this novel which speaks about a matter very much still in the “making” stages. Dr. Kloner has many cardiology texts and scientific papers to his credit.

Bret Bowling

Bret Bowling is a family physician in the Ozarks. His family comprises of his wife and two children. His book “The waiting room adventures of a country doctor” highlights the simplicity of the country folk and how they test his patience. The compassion and humor of the rural folk of America are elaborated. How their innocence heals the doctor forms a major part of the book. Bret Bowling has written this book based on the information and experiences he had as a doctor.

Dr.Robin Cook

Dr.Robin Cook is an American doctor who is an ophthalmologist and a novelist. Famous for combining medical writing with the thriller genre, he has several thrillers to his name. His books have been best sellers on the New York Times bestseller list. His books have been features in the Reader’s Digest too. Cook had his education at Wesleyan University and Columbia University School of Medicine. His post graduate training was at Harvard. His books show a combination of medical fact and fantasy which have kept readers on tenterhooks. The public is kept aware of the latest technological possibilities of modern medicine and the ethics problems related to medicine. Diving being a hobby which he enjoyed, Cook was enlisted as an aquanaut in US Navy sealab.

“Coma” by Cook was a novel which held readers pinned to the book till the end. “Shock” was another novel which addressed the stem cell issue which was a subject worthy of discussion then. Two Harvard students donate their eggs to an infertility clinic, not knowing that it was run by a maniac who was cloning humans and was removing ovaries from unsuspecting donors. Cook believes that he can get people to be interested in various issues in medicine. He mainly thought about the reactions of people to relevant issues and triggered their reactions through his books. The issues that have been used as subjects are organ transplantation, genetic engineering, fertility treatment, in vitro fertilization and research funding among others “Abduction” has an interesting story line dealing with a group of scientists exploring the ocean floor. They come upon a society that lives on the ocean floor without the knowledge of the world. “Acceptable risk” talks about a girl who goes back in search of her heritage. She is romantically attached to a scientist who discovers a new psychotic drug which affects the chemistry of the mind to cause strange behavior. This book explores psychology to conclude that the power and side effects of drugs need to be respected. “Blindsight’ illustrates drug overdose cases that are autopsied by a medical examiner and finds that the cases were not overdoses but clear-cut murders (Author Cook, AllReaders.com). The result is that she is in danger from criminals. Cook has used the subject of autopsies and drug over-dosage in this book.

In “Contagion”, Cook uses a plague scare as the subject. He speaks of an ophthalmologist who has lost his ophthalmic practice to a large hospital but soon finds evidence about the early killing of patients by his enemies who eliminated them if they cost a huge amount to treat by using a deadly virus. The doctor’s life is also in danger. We notice that again, Cook has used his life experiences in the novel (Author Cook, AllReaders.com).

“Crisis” talks about a doctor being accused of malpractice, another issue from the medical field. The doctor also has a psychological problem in it. “Fatal cure” is written around a rare lung disease which is discovered in the daughter of two doctors (Author Cook, AllReaders.com). They move to the countryside which offers plenty of fresh air and a healthy community living. Rare diseases are seen in the medical field. Cancer research is the subject in “Fever”. Here the doctor’s wife and daughter both have leukemia due to a chemical conspiracy of many years ago. He makes moves to correct the situation and finally saves his daughter. The significance of cancer research and that one day it can help to save patients is the message in this book. In “Godplayer” Cook uses the concept of a heart surgeon who is so dedicated to his work that he unknowingly becomes a criminal (Author Cook, AllReaders.com). “Harmful Intent” narrates the story of an anesthesiologist who is falsely implicated in a case. The accused jumps bail and investigates under cover to bring out the facts which point to a plot intent on killing innocent people and destroying the lives of innocent doctors. “Invasion” speaks about a person becoming an alien after touching a stone. This new alien goes around trying to change his friends into similar aliens. The whole theme is scary but thrilling. “Marker’ is a story of a relationship between two medical examiners who handle autopsies. “Mindbend” is a more complicated but slightly unbelievable story about doctors being sent on a cruise by a company which drugs them and brings them under their control. They are also subjected to brain surgery. “Mortal fear” is a tale about people attending a doctor’s clinic aging and dying early (Author Cook, AllReaders.com). The doctor investigates and reaches a research programme which is causing these unnatural deaths. “Mutation” is about genetic engineering. The scientist creates a monster that causes problems. The scientist is torn between the idea of his great creation and facing the reality of his monster. “Outbreak” tells of a disease outbreak which kills a doctor in Africa followed by many hundreds of people. After some time the same illness has outbreaks in America (Author Cook, AllReaders.com). One particular employee of CDC runs around helping to control the outbreaks. She finds out that all the outbreaks were planned events as part of a conspiracy. The outbreak of epidemics, the control, and the role of the CDC are all real in context. Cook has used these ideas in a deft manner to weave a story. Bioterrorism is the subject being handled. Its prevalence in the present world has significance. The idea of research funding and the difficulty of acquiring it is the subject chosen for “Seizure”. The fund is for new genetic engineering to develop stem cell research (Author Cook, AllReaders.com). A US Senator opposes his request for funding in public while giving his support in exchange for secretly treating him. A Caribbean clinic is selected for the treatment. The local doctors hoped to make some money. The topics of genetic engineering, funding for research, the political interference in funding and the corrupt doctors who wish to make money on the side are issues relevant in our society. Cook has vividly presented these in the book. The threat of biological weapons is demonstrated in the book “Vector”. The plot speaks about the anthrax attack in a New York office. The involved person is a foreigner who has become disillusioned with American life (Author Cook, AllReaders.com).

Has American Literary tradition changed?

“Contemporary American writers are more technically proficient and far less socially or politically motivated than previous generations of American writers (many of whom began as journalists). Readers of contemporary literary fiction have grown accustomed to the novel’s microscopic power to render, often beautifully, the small moments of a character’s life. Conversely, we’ve grown skeptical of the novel’s telescopic function to bring large, distant abstractions into focus. We’re wary of the big picture” (Bachelder, 2006).

The medical thriller has evolved as a public policy statement or an opinion leadership.

Our “infotainment” culture has changed. Whether Dr Robin Cook intended to use his novels as statements on health policy issues does make one wonder. All his novels and stories have embedded an issue or a new knowledge in the world of medicine. They could be considered as issues of contemporary significance. He is believed to produce new stories in a span of 60 days.

His first novel was published in 1972 and he wrote in during a posting in a submarine. Since then he has not looked back A new book is published every 2 or 3 years. “Coma” and “Sphinx” have been made into big screen thrillers. “Outbreak” was made into a TV movie, “Virus”.

Terminal”, “Invasion”, “Mortal fear” and “Harmful Intent” also have been made into TV movies.

Cook’s reflections

He started writing as he wanted to talk about issues. The health facts presented were ensured to be correct as he did not want someone to discover a ‘wrong’ fact (Rocheforte, 2006).

His stories have withstood the scrutiny of millions of people including medical professionals who would have come forward if anything was drastically wrong. Cook believes that his books have started influencing public policies. The stances he had on public health issues were expressed in many of his notes for the novels. In “Mindbend”, he says thus:” What we are witnessing today is the gradual but quickening pace of the intrusion of business into medicine. It must be understood that the corporate mentality of the balance sheet is diametrically opposed to the traditional aspects of altruism that have formed the foundation of the practice of medicine.”

That he has strong viewpoints and they reflect in his stories is obvious from these words. At a “Today Show” in July 2003, he spoke strongly for stem cell research and therapeutic cloning (Rocheforte, 2006). He has explained the issue in his book “Seizure”. Dr. Robin Cook has been interviewed on CNN and other major TV shows. A copy of “Seizure” had been given to every member of the Congress.

Medical Mistakes in Fiction

Karen Laugel highlights an incident in a story where ethics is thrown to the winds and a bone marrow sample is taken from a sibling in the most horrific manner and unanaesthetised

for the sake of a sibling who needed the transplant (2008). Public tend to believe this medical fiction. Things are not done in this manner at all in the real situation. A film “Michael Clayton” showed a man forcing tablets down a person’s throat and then giving an injection between the toes which killed him immediately. Autopsy would have revealed the cause of death to be the injection rather than the tablets. However this was overlooked in the film (Laugel, 2008).

Karen who also writes makes sure about facts before endeavoring to write medical fiction.

The language of medical fiction

Medical fiction reflects the common conversational language. Reading skills are much improved with the reading of medical fiction (Koy, C.E., 2003). One can improve the quality of English by frequently reading medical fiction.

References

Author Cook Book Reviews. Web.
Bachelder, C. (2006). “The Jungle at 100”. Mother Jones, 2006
“Brain Chicane”. (2003).
“Bedside manners” (2001).
“Interests of biomedical writers”.
Koy, C.E. (2003). “Keeping English Proficient by reading medical fiction”. Bratisl Lek Listy, Vol. 104, No. 6:208
Laugel, K. (2008), “Medical Mistakes in Fiction”. Scarlet letters, Vol 14, No. 2, 2008.
Manfredini, R. (1999). “Medical fiction could be misleading”. BMJ, Vol. 319, No. 7217, Pg. 1132, BMJ Publishing Group. Web.
“Mind Cure”. (1998).
Rocheforte, D. et al. (2006). “Contemporary medical fiction and health policy advocacy”.
“The Beta Virus”. (1996).
“The Deity Genes” (2001).
“The waiting room adventures of a country doctor” (2002).

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