The House of God, book details and references

The discussion on The House of God is just about an hour away, and in preparation I wanted to post some quotes, questions, and details from the book.

There are a lot of characters and relationships to consider. A few that I found most important to the development of Roy in his internship are:
Fats
Dr. Saunders
Berry
Chuck
Potts
Quick and Gilheeny

Other characters to think about: Roy's father, Jo, Leggo, Fish, The Yellow Man, Hooper, Eddie, Molly, Runt, Nate Zock, Richard Nixon.

-What do you think of how the author used Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal as historical backdrop?

-What, if anything, do the gomers/gomeres represent to Roy and the rest of the staff at The House of God?

If you have already read the book and/or you have not but don't mind reading quotes from the book that reveal details, then don't follow the jump.


The role of a doctor -pg. 148
"I went through the same cynicism - all that training, and then this helplessness. And yet, in spite of all our doubt, we can give something. Not a cure, no. What sustains us is when we find a way to be compassionate, to love." Dr. Saunders.

Doctor patient relations -pg. 151
"I loved him too much to see his body ripped apart downstairs." Roy
"That kind of talk has no place in modern medicine." Jo

To treat or not to treat? -pg. 183
"You're telling me again that the cure is worse than the disease?"

Obeservations from Berry
-pg. 252
"Not them, you. They make me sad, but the way you treat them, making fun of them, like they were animals, is sick. You guys are sick." Berry
"Ah, you're just not used to it." Roy

-pg. 283
"It isn't the medical skills you learn, it's the ability to wake up the next day as if nothing had happened the day before, even if what happened is a friend killing himself."

-pg. 300
"You're not a jerk, Roy. You're a machine."

The lesson learned -pg. 320
"...you showed me that a guy can stay in medicine and still be himself."