What an absolute gem of a book. I stopped counting the number of times it made me cry and just enjoyed every story as Ellen de Visser shared these wonderful insights into the hospital world that no one on the outside could know. Please read this one, you won't be sorry.

Poignant and oftentimes heart-breaking... However, it was a little bit triggering because of how much it talked of the death of a cancer patient (being myself someone who's had cancer and still dealing with its after-effects on my life). Wasn't expecting this to be so much a downer with patients dying in almost all the stories - was under the impression it would be more about hope and what doctors took away from their interactions with patients. In that sense, it felt very shallow (the stories were just so short, and I get it, given they were first in newspaper column format) but there was so much scope there, and again, all of them seemed to end on a sense of doom and doldrums...
Went in thinking this would be a hopeful kind of book - it's anything but, really, so please beware if that's what you also think you'll be getting

I have LOVED this one so much I have ordered myself a hardback copy! As an ex NHS worker I have even been inspired to make q video based on this book called what my patients taught me

I told myself I would remember her forever – the first patient I lost. I was just a third year medical student, and really, it was my team doing the looking after, not me. I’ve forgotten her name by now, but I still remember her.

I initially resisted reading Ellen de Visser’s That One Patient – a collection of stories submitted by doctors to a Dutch newspaper, about the “one” patient that changed their lives. Would the stories trigger me? Would they be sensationalised? Would they be trite?

I eventually did read it, and I am so glad I did. (The answers to my questions were all “no”.)

The chapters in That One Patient are short and easy to read in between cases, at lunch, or during a commute (provided one is not driving). Easy to read, but not all are necessarily easy to digest. This collection accurately conveys the experience of medical professionals: the hours, the pressure, and the way it is impossible for work not to bleed into our daily lives.

“…that is what healthcare professionals wish to share: stories confessing a certain vulnerability.”

The value in this collection is for the public, as well as for healthcare workers. Knowing that we all share vulnerabilities is essential to our professional community, where individuals often feel isolated. Concurrently, it is important for the public to understand the machinations of the health sector. The public is not always fully aware (and this is perhaps our own fault) what our work entails, nor of its very real effects on the very real humans taking care of them.

“I came to realise that our profession is a very reflective one[…]”

Make no mistake, this is also a huge learning opportunity for doctors about patients. Many of the stories address “pearls” of patient care that have been hard-won during years of empathic practice.

The diversity of stories in That One Patient is broad in subject matter, as well as the spectrum of narrators. I would have liked if all narrators included their years in practice – only some did.

Although these stories come from healthcare workers both young and old, many address a very current conflict in the medical community: the concept of a “good death”, or euthanasia. The Netherlands was the first European country where euthanasia was legalised, and many of the authors of these stories were young doctors during the years that the Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide Act was developing into what it is today.

“As doctors, we generally learn how to help people live, but we hardly ever learn how to help them die.”

These are stories about real humans, and so not every story is agreeable. Sometimes I felt that a narrator’s opinion was bigoted, or lacked depth. Sometimes I did not agree. Sometimes I exclaimed, “Exactly! That’s exactly what I’ve learned, too!”

This does not detract from the reading experience – in fact, I prefer a book that stirs up conflicting emotions. This is the kind of book one would enjoy discussing with friends or colleagues. It certainly has many “hooks” for discussion, whether for a book club of laypersons, healthcare workers, or a mix.

That One Patient is more than a collection of “mini-biographies” – it is a work of medical sociology. It is a work that shows that underneath our experiences, we really are our own “that one patient”.

Post-script: The edition I read was translated and printed after the beginning of the COVID19-pandemic, and has additional chapters by doctors from the USA and UK.

The title is self explanatory. These accounts originally appeared in a weekly column in a Dutch newspaper. It was fairly interesting but after a while became very “samey” and I stopped reading every word. It would have worked better to have less contributors and longer accounts in my opinion.

This is a heartwarming collection of feedback from a wide range of health workers & medical professionals in The Netherlands. Each story is only a few pages long that focus on patients and their recoveries.

I found this a touching book. Ellen de Visser has interviewed hundreds of healthcare workers about their ‘one patient’, the one that stands out in their mind. Sometimes that patient lives. Sometimes they die. Every time they teach a lesson to their doctor which changes the way they think, feel, or even practice medicine.

Some of these stories were incredibly sad, some were uplifting but all were interesting and well written. I liked that each was just long enough- you got the story without any extra waffle. It is a good choice if you like to dip in and out of books as you could easily read one or two a day.

It’s not a jolly book like others of its genre, more quietly contemplative and uplifting. I enjoyed it very much. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

This is a lovely collection of short anecdotes from a wide range of health workers & medical professionals in The Netherlands where they talk/write about that one patient that has had a lasting effect on them, Each story is only 3 pages long so it's a book you can dip in and out of, or read in one go as normal. Some patients are no longer with us, some went on to live lives that made the health proffessional question their medical decisions, other's went on to flourish,

As the book states at the beginning, doctor assisted euthanasia is legal (subject to meeting the legal requirements) this leads to some different endings to how things might happen in much of the rest of the world.

I definitely recommend this book, it gives you a lot to think about and offers a little window into the minds of health workers and how patients can really make a difference, usually unknowingly.

Thank you to NetGally and 4th Estate for the ARC of this book in return for an unbiased view.

This book is wonderful.

It is a book that I have taken my time with, deliberately, to absorb the stories and meaning behind them.

Some of the stories resonate more than others and some you find yourself randomly thinking about days afterwards.

It is a incredible book and I would highly recommend it. Very moving, very real, very honest and just a pleasure to read.

This book was exquisite. As a doctor this was the book that I wish I had been part of. Written well, incredible stories reminding me of why this is what we all do. Superb.

What a great book, showing how patients’ lives impact on the specialist’s own. A real insight into human life. More please!

I really liked this book, it was lovely to see the human side of the medical industry, I loved the short chapters and the patients stories, I thought it was a lovely book, sad in parts but also raised a fair few smiles! A very enjoyable read considering the subject matter!

I have just started working in a hospital as a HCA and have already had patient's that I have learnt from and remember and will keep with me forever. This book has really captured my heart as I can understand the feelings that are betrayed in this book. It was a lovely quick read as well with each chapter being a different story from the Health Professional.

A really enlightening and touching read where we hear from a number of different doctors and nurses talk about the patients that changed their lives.

Would definitely recommend!

It makes a change to read a medical book that shows the human side to healthcare professionals. Many books focus on the facts only not the lasting effect some patients have on the doctors and nurses. The sections were small enough to read in small periods of time.
Many thanks to Netgalley for the early e book copy.

I really enjoyed this book, it feels odd saying I enjoyed it, given the subject matter, but I was so interesting. The short chapters were easy to read, although the nature of some made them equally as difficult. Highly recommended.

This was a fascinating read, a real insight into how professionals can be impacted on about one particular individual whilst at work.

I really enjoyed reading it. In some cases I would have liked to have heard a little more about their patient of choice.

Thank you to the publisher for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

That One Patient by Ellen de Visser
4.3/5
Heart rendering, at times funny but always thought-invoking stories from all walks of medical lives. Mostly from Dutch medical staff but also includes some British medics.
These memories from the patients who have left a mark on their health care staff are a joy to read although at others they are very sad. Not only did you read about the patients, relatives etc you were given an insight to the medical staff and how they were affected. Very enlightening.
Many years ago I was told by a young, newly qualified doctor that I would always be “That One Patient”. So I found it very interesting to read about other “One Patient”.
A beautifully written book that is highly recommended.
My thanks to Ellen de Visser, HarperCollins, 4th Estate and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read That One Patient. In return I have written an unbiased and honest review.

What an interesting book! It is formatted in small chapters each telling the story of an unforgettable patient to each doctor or nurse. Although it deals with some heavy stories, I found this book unputdownable!
Trigger warning: euthanasia

I found this a really interesting read; some lovely memories people have of their patients. I liked the way it was formatted and the way they were written.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.