My life in an Amish household on a farm was largely self-sufficient, producing our needs without the use of electricity, tractors, running water or other modern conveniences, and gave me the experience and knowledge to write about Amish life. From my earliest memories I was steeped in the religious teachings and traditions of the Amish church that gives me an insider's viewpoint of the Amish and Mennonite religions. I write about the Anabaptist heritage from which the Amish and Mennonite religions arose during the Protestant Reformation of the16th century.
Practicing neurosurgery for 40 years in a large urban hospital in Ft. Lauderdale qualifies me to write stories about life in the operating room and how I learned to manage surgical complications, including apologizing to patients and families when I was at fault. As a result of being enmeshed in medical malpractice litigation, I became familiar with our tort system and its flaws, about evidence-based practice of medicine and how to reduce medical errors. I analyze the astounding number of 48,000 to 98,000 hospital deaths per year attributed to medical error by the Institute of Medicine in "To Err is Human," pointing out that the number reflects hospital deaths in whom the investigators found a medical error on the chart, but in many cases played a minimal role (or none at all) in the demise of the patient.
Marketing Strategy
I belong to our two national neurosurgery societies that meet annually and in their cavernous exhibit halls, where vendors ply their latest instruments, there is always a publication section where I can show my memoir. More than 11,000 surgeons and medical professionals from more than 90 countries attend the annual fall meeting of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, one of the largest international neurosurgical societies. Our more senior neurosurgical society, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons is attended by over 4,000 surgeons and medical professionals at their annual spring meeting.
I have over 4,000 friends on Facebook that should prove useful to promote my book. I hear from my friends who enjoy the photo albums I post and I have posted essays related to healthcare. I interact with my colleagues from medical school and my practice on LinkedIn and Doximity and both should prove useful to sharing my book with the public.
Appointed by Governor Lawton Child to the Statewide Health Council, December 1991 to September 1994
Delegate for BGMC to the AMA Medical Staff Section, August 1989 to June 1992
Received Medical Staff Most Valuable Physician Award, 2001 (Broward General Medical Center)
Chair, Committee for Tort Reform, Broward County Medical Association, 2002 and 2003
Testified before United States Congress, EMTALA – Technical Advisory Committee, in regard to EMTALA regulations that became an issue at our hospital in respect to on-call coverage for neurosurgery in our community, May 2007 (Washington DC)
Medical Missions to Haiti:
Project Medishare/University of Miami Port-au-Prince, Haiti, July 24-31,2010
Project Medishare/University of Miami Port-au-Prince, Haiti, July 30-August 6, 2011
Listed in South Florida Super Doctors, and in Castle and Connolly Top Doctors, 2012
Awarded the "Doctor of the Year Award" by the Caducean Society of Greater Ft Lauderdale, May 2024