How Doctors Die by Ken Murray

            How Doctors Die is written by Dr. Ken Murray M.D, an essayist, speaker, and a retired physician. Dr. Murray has been published in several medical magazines such as the Zocalo Public Square, and has also been interviewed on NPR. In this particular essay, Murray compares how doctors and patients decide to go about treatment for life threatening injuries. Being a retired doctor, Murray has experience in the medical field and therefore knows much about the internal workings of a hospital. Murray begins by providing an anecdote about his mentor, Charlie, an orthopedist who was diagnosed with cancer. Charlie, albeit that he could’ve gotten the best treatment decided to forgo any, “Radiation, or surgical treatment”(231), and instead just died at home. Murray continues to explain that due to the fact that doctors are aware of the probability and the suffering involved with treatment, the majority of them forgo any operations and instead elect to die at home. What appalled Murray was that although doctors elect to refrain from treatment, many of them give their patients, “futile care”(232). Murray continues to hypothesize that the reason for such activity has to do with the patient’s lack of knowledge on treatment, the doctor’s lack of judgment, and even the panic of the emergency room. While these all are contributing factors, the bottom line and purpose of Murray’s essay is that the medical system can, “swallow people up”(234) if patients aren’t educated on what they’re deciding. In order to avoid the panic, the medical bills, and the haphazard nature of the hospital, Murray suggests to, like his cousin, and fellow doctors, “Go gentle into that good night”(235). Murray’s use of anecdotes from his mentor and his cousin who also died naturally, better Murray’s point because the reader sees the examples as relatable. I felt as though Murray affirmed his point by emphasizing the contradiction that doctors themselves don’t go through intense treatment; therefore why should patients. Overall I thought the essay was very well written and even convinced me to consider dying naturally. To me it seems peaceful and less invasive and that was Murray’s point.

Dying Man

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Would you rather die covered in wires with large medical bills or in peace with your family?