Cook County ICU

30 Years of Unforgettable Patients and Odd Cases

By: Cory Franklin MD

Narrated by: John Pruden

Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

Filled with stories of strange medical cases and unforgettable patients culled from a 30-year career in medicine, Cook County ICU offers listeners a peek into the inner workings of a hospital. Author Cory Franklin, MD, who headed the hospital's intensive care unit from the 1970s through the 1990s, shares his most unique and bizarre experiences, including the deadly Chicago heatwave of 1995, treating the first AIDS patients in the country before the disease was diagnosed, the nurse with rare Munchausen syndrome, the only surviving ricin victim, and the professor with Alzheimer's hiding the effects of the wrong medication. Surprising, darkly humorous, heartwarming, and sometimes tragic, these stories provide a big-picture look at how the practice of medicine has changed over the years, making it a must-listen for patients, doctors, and anyone with an interest in medicine.

©2015 Cory Franklin (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Franklin provides an excellent firsthand perspective on life in the medical trenches." ( Booklist)

Great book

This audio book is Very easy to listen to the narrator voice is very pleasing. The stories in this book are amazing and raw, I love how he explains his decades of experience in the medical field. As a nurse I can tell this man was a great, compassionate doctor. I highly recommend to anyone working in medicine to read this book!

Everybody's Interesting To Themselves

I suppose you can't go through a 40 year medical career without gathering a few anecdotes. And Dr. Cory Franklin has gathered his share. The trouble is, they're not all that interesting or that well told.

I was drawn to this book in part because it was on sale and in part because my late father-in-law was a Dr. Franklin. Besides, I usually enjoy doctor memoirs because they come with a certain amount of hospital drama or with some good medical advice. Cook County ICU... not so much.

If you want to read doctor memoirs, there are plenty better choices here on Audible.

really good book

I have worked in the medical field, the office side of it, for 20 years and this book really opened up my eyes to what occurs on the dr side.

Very informative and entertaining

Loved it, keep me wanting to listen to more.
I am happy this MD decided to write a book and share his experiences with the world.

Pompous and self-important

Throughout, the author seems un-self-aware, arrogant, and occasionally hypocritical. I suggest skipping the prologue because it was almost unbearably dull and over the top with its dramatic sweep over the entire genre of medical literature, implying this piece rests on the top of the pyramid of previous work rather than just being yet another memoir by a relatively ordinary doctor. The author derides other doctors for their arrogance, patronization, and callousness, but includes several examples of his own poor behavior in these areas without apology, seeming not to notice the hypocrisy. For example, he indulges in self-congratulation about the time he tricked a young patient into thinking a pager was a Geiger counter because it was easier to deceive him than to actually address his concern about exposure to radiation, but then he spends most of the concluding chapter whining about a lack of trust and honesty in modern patient-doctor relationships. Finally, the ubiquitous dated pop-culture references and over-used quotes were a distraction and are a barrier to the full enjoyment of the book for anyone under the age of 50 or so. As a 31-year-old, the few references I understood were cliches. I gave three stars because I learned a lot about medical culture and attitudes toward patients that will serve me in the future, especially when dealing with older, pompous doctors. Peering into this fount of pride and arrogance was very enlightening.

Great book

I found the book very interesting and recommend you give it a listen. I enjoyed hearing all the stories of patients

As a physician, this book is 10/10

Like:
As a physician in 2023, even though this book is a little older, it is still 100% accurate as to how medicine is today. Yes things have changed, but the emotions, interactions, and bureaucracy is still present. This book is not to teach you about the ICU, it’s to recount a story of physician’s thoughts and emotions of human interactions in their career as a physician.

Recommend:
Anyone and everyone. Even if this book was about being a mechanic, his stories are fascinating outside the topics of medicine.

Why this rating:
Truthful story telling that leaves us wondering about how we can be better as humans to each other

Good book

Very interesting if you are into medical stories. So of it was funny, some not so funny.

Interesting

It was an interesting read. many funny stories. would have liked to see controversial topics brought up for readers to ponder.

Great listen

Interesting story by a physician who had a lot of experience over a number of years. Enjoyable listen. Nice insights and well written. Nothing special but nothing