Speaking of Books
Monday Warnings
Q:
Your novel,
Monday
Mornings,
shows a hospi-
tal holding regular meet-
ings to analyze doctors’
errors. Have you attend-
ed such a session?
A:
Of course. As a medical
student, I saw doctors
who I thought could do
no wrong talking about
bad things that had hap-
pened on their watch. It
was frightening at first, but
ultimately empowering.
I think medicine moves
forward through trial and
don’t have insurance.
But the people with pre-
existing conditions are
the ones who need us the
most! That’s what happens
when you treat the healing
profession like a business.
People who go into this
field have to understand
that they’re going to be-
come
healers.
They have to
do it for that reason alone.
Q:
I hear David E. Kelly is
making the TV pilot.
A:
Right. Casting the show
was a bizarre and exciting
experience. I thought I
knew my characters inti-
mately, then along come
strangers to play them.
It’s like being told, “Here,
we’ve chosen a new spouse
for you!”
—Wendy Smith
error—doctors learning
from mistakes, then mak-
ing sure they never recur.
What separates a very
good doctor or hospital
from the rest is the willing-
ness to discuss their errors.
Q:
Some characters in
the novel are fed up with
legal or financial inroads
on a doctor’s life.
A:
Insurance companies
won’t cover people with
preexisting conditions,
and hospitals won’t care
for them because they
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