Healing hands

the long version

This book relates the personal experiences of medical people in Alabama - doctors, nurses, midwives, home remedy practitioners, and social workers - who talk about the medical profession and tell of events that occurred during their careers. These experiences, taken from interviews with more than 70 healers from throughout the state, cover a period from shortly after the turn of the century to the present. The book is full of the personal drama of dealing with medical problems, including the reasons for going into a medical profession, medical school, or other training; beginning a practice; coping with the vast changes in medicine during this century; managing a successful practice; and dealing with a wide variety of patients. All the stories are told in narrative form from the point of view of the medical worker - from the other side of the stethoscope.