On Call in the Arctic, Thomas J. Sims
On Call in the Arctic, Thomas J. Sims
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On Call in the Arctic
A Doctor's Pursuit of Life, Love, and Miracles in the Alaskan Frontier

Author: Thomas J. Sims

Narrator: Sean Pratt

Unabridged: 9 hr 15 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/02/2020


Synopsis

Imagine a young doctor, trained in the latest medical knowledge and state-of-the-art equipment, suddenly transported back to one of the worlds most isolated and unforgiving environmentsNome, Alaska. Thats what happen to Dr. Sims. His plans to become a pediatric surgeon were drastically changed when, on the eve of being drafted into the Army to serve as a M.A.S.H. surgeon in Vietnam, he was offered a commission in the U.S. Public Health for assignment in Anchorage, Alaska, where he was scheduled to act as Chief of Pediatrics at the Alaska Native Medical Center. But life changed, along with his military orders, when he learned he was being transferred from Anchorage to work as the only physician in Nome. There, he had the awesome responsibility of rendering medical care under archaic conditions to the population of this frontier town plus thirteen Eskimo villages in the surrounding Norton Sound area. And he did it alone with little help and support. All the while, he was pegged as both an outsider and an employee of the much-derided federal government. In order to do his job, Dr. Sims had to overcome racism, cultural prejudices, and hostility from those who would have liked to see him sent packing. On Call in the Arctic reveals the thrills and the terrors of frontier medicine, showing how Dr. Sims had to rely upon his instincts, improvise, and persevere against all odds in order to help his patients on the icy shores of the Bering Sea.

About Thomas J. Sims

Thomas J. Sims, M.D., is a writer and actor who studied zoology and creative writing at UCLA before attending medical school at Creighton University. After leaving Alaska, he began a private medical practice and began to write and act. He now runs a medical-consultation practice and the website DocTalkToday.com. He lives in Bend, Oregon.


Reviews

Why did I study all this if I was destined to work in a small hospital in a rural area? This is the question one of my closest friends asked me who had completed his Residency from one of the best hospitals in the world, which has all the latest technology and infrastructure. He always liked to......more

Goodreads review by Natalie

Enjoyed this book so much! I love real life stories that are crazier than fiction. If you like memoirs or medical dramas or Call the Midwife or anything like that, you’d enjoy.......more

I very much enjoyed this look into practicing medicine in the Arctic! I had never even heard of the U.S. Public Health Service, and I certainly didn't know that they could send people to far-reaching spots of America. Recommend for anyone who likes true stories that take place in remote locations. Not......more