On call in the Arctic

307 pages

English language

Published Sept. 4, 2018 by Pegasus Books.

ISBN:: 978-1-68177-851-8
OCLC Number:: 1048932127
Goodreads:: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38471789-on-call-in-the-arctic

(1 review)

The fish-out-of-water stories of Northern Exposure and Doc Martin meet the rough-and-rugged setting of The Discovery Channel’s Alaskan Bush People in Thomas J. Sims’s On Call in the Arctic, where the author relates his incredible experience saving lives in one of the most remote outposts in North America.

Imagine a young doctor, trained in the latest medical knowledge and state-of-the-art equipment, suddenly transported back to one of the world’s most isolated and unforgiving environments—Nome, Alaska. Dr. Sims’ plans to become a pediatric surgeon 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.

In Anchorage, Dr. Sims was scheduled to act as Chief of Pediatrics at the Alaska Native Medical Center. Life changed, along with his military orders, when he learned he was being transferred …

The fish-out-of-water stories of Northern Exposure and Doc Martin meet the rough-and-rugged setting of The Discovery Channel’s Alaskan Bush People in Thomas J. Sims’s On Call in the Arctic, where the author relates his incredible experience saving lives in one of the most remote outposts in North America.

Imagine a young doctor, trained in the latest medical knowledge and state-of-the-art equipment, suddenly transported back to one of the world’s most isolated and unforgiving environments—Nome, Alaska. Dr. Sims’ plans to become a pediatric surgeon 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.

In Anchorage, Dr. Sims was scheduled to act as Chief of Pediatrics at the Alaska Native Medical Center. 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 would have 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 would do 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 like to see him sent packing. On Call in the Arctic reveals the thrills and the terrors of frontier medicine, where Dr. Sims must rely upon his instincts, improvise, and persevere against all odds in order to help his patients on the icy shores of the Bering Sea.

3 editions

Nerywood reviewed On call in the Arctic by Thomas J. Sims

Review of 'On call in the Arctic' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

The book starts with a story about Dr.Sims being woken up in the middle of the middle (or you could say early morning) and having to rush to the hospital because a child is getting worst. The story doesn't end, and you, the reader are taken back to how is all happened.

This story takes places in the early 70's and before Dr.Sims can complete his internship he is almost drafted for the war. He could do go Vietnam or he is lucky and be a doctor in the Arctic. He has to make a choice, before his choice is made for him.

He decides to go to the Arctic, which may seem easy but it's a ton more difficult than he expected.

This book does have short chapters which makes it seem like you are making progress quickly.

There are points in the book that will make you laugh, …

The book starts with a story about Dr.Sims being woken up in the middle of the middle (or you could say early morning) and having to rush to the hospital because a child is getting worst. The story doesn't end, and you, the reader are taken back to how is all happened.

This story takes places in the early 70's and before Dr.Sims can complete his internship he is almost drafted for the war. He could do go Vietnam or he is lucky and be a doctor in the Arctic. He has to make a choice, before his choice is made for him.

He decides to go to the Arctic, which may seem easy but it's a ton more difficult than he expected.

This book does have short chapters which makes it seem like you are making progress quickly.

There are points in the book that will make you laugh, cry, and be angry.

"After what seemed more like an afternoon nap than a full night’s sleep, I was startled awake by a ray of bright sunlight jutting through our bedroom window."

"It was difficult being on call twenty-four/seven, and I never had more than a few hours free at a time without being called to the hospital for some sort of emergency. "

"I could see Maureen’s passion in her eyes and it made me realize I was a visitor to their Arctic world, a person from a different culture. The last thing I should try to do was change people’s way of thinking over to mine. The only way I was going to successfully adapt to this new life was to adjust my attitude, my thinking, and my actions rather than the other way around."

"To hell with the fact I had a wife and two children. To hell with my responsibilities to the community and to the PHS. I wanted nothing more than to get on that plane and head out of Alaska to see some sun."

"“Lunge harder, Doc!” Sparky ordered. “We got about another thirty seconds or we’re gonna be sittin’ on top those bushes.” I lunged so far forward I hit my forehead on the windshield. That’s when Sparky let out a belly laugh."

"“Yeah,” he laughed out loud. “And there’s no such thing as lunge. It don’t do a damn thing. I got you a good one.” “You shithead!” I hollered. “Look, I bumped by head.” “Oh, poor baby,” Sparky laughed."

"I no longer wanted a different assignment in the bush. I wanted us to go to Anchorage, the big city with conveniences and a place where I could blend in with the masses and feel less emotionally connected to people who depended on me for life and death decisions. I wanted freedom from the hostile environment of Nome that polarized the community against me and the work I was trying to do. And I was sick of the archaic conditions with no reasonable help or support. Worst of all, winter was coming and I loathed the thought of living again in darkness. I had reached the bleakest moment of my experience in the Arctic and now, all I wanted to do was escape."

"After a while, I discovered it wasn’t medical practice that pushed me from the bush, it was politics and conflicts that had nothing to do with the reason I became a physician in the first place."

Subjects

Physicians
Biography

Places

Alaska
Nome