A prescription for life. Review on Final Diagnosis, The - Arthur Hailey

The disillusionment of a man at the end of his career after the realization that all his achievements are meaningless is a situation one would not like to face, yet, it is inevitable in each one’s career. The state of mind of a person at that juncture is truly perplexing; his mind is able to comprehend the meaninglessness of his existence whereas his ego does not permit him to acknowledge the truth of such a thought. His disillusionment slowly turns into embitterment, which gnaws him from within. To avoid facing this despair, he hits out at people around him and clings to the comfort of his old ways. One cannot disregard the fundamental rule of nature, “what is new now will later be old”; you can disregard it but at your own peril.

Change is inevitable; the only changeless thing around us is change. Change is a constant, a polestar to which even time has to bow. It is for us to gracefully accept change in a manner to make it least painful. Change is undoubtedly painful, as it changes things to which we are comfortable with. A successful man is one who anticipates change and seeks to flow with it, like a river stream, which negotiates a mountain, bending itself to the obstacles. Change is a metaphor for the in destructiveness of time.

“ Final Diagnosis “ by Arthur Hailey is a book which has in its centre a plot which describes the changes in the protagonist’s life and struggle to change with change. Three Counties Hospital at Burlington, Pennsylvania is a hospital, which has its best days behind it and facing a struggle for its existence. The hospital’s problems are self inflicted, mostly caused by its desire to move with the times but being unable to do so. The inability stems because the doctors who populate the hospital have their own axes to grind. The hospital is divided within itself into two groups, one is the reformers who want to modernize the institution and the other is the status quoists who are resistant towards changes. The reformers have their convincing reasons and so do the status quoists. Bickering, personal animosities and egoism among doctors take a heavy toll of the efficiency of the hospital.

As the feud between the staff rages, the reputation of the hospital takes a severe beating. At the epicenter of the feud stands the tragic and flawed hero of the book, Dr Joseph Pearson, a man who is obstinate, opinionated whom even his enemies acknowledge as a brilliant pathologist. His Achilles heel is his disdain towards change. The hospital suffers as the better doctors deserting it for greener pastures. The institution is left with the tired, the disgruntled and the plain incompetents. The hospital lurches from crisis to crisis but there appears no light at the end of the tunnel. The reformers are facing a losing battle pitted against the status quoists led by the formidable Dr Pearson and backed by Eustace Swank, the millionaire patron of the hospital.

The mood in the hospital deepens into despondency. A train of tragic events occurs at the hospital with several medical negligence cases, which occur with alarming frequency. The cases have a common feature about them – they all arise out of the faulty diagnosis reports from the pathology lab. Despite all the criticism, Dr Pearson refuses to see light and turns down well-meaning offers of help in running the lab. However, his colleagues manage to convince him to accept an assistant pathologist. The new recruit, Dr Coleman is an outstanding doctor but a very cold man. Matters take a turn for the worse with Dr Pearson displaying outright hostility to his junior’s well-intended suggestions. The personality clashes between the two provide riveting drama and the plot moves towards a predictable end but not before a rousing climax. The words of advice given by Dr Pearson to his younger colleague is clearly the highlight of the book.

The book needs no recommendation from any; its merits will speak for itself.