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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Dave Galloway say he does not want to take his pain medication when his cancer is troubling him?

2. What does a patient base their impression of pain on, according to researcher Daniel Kahneman?

3. When does Gawande say developments in the field of palliative will provide cause for celebration in medical circles?

4. What does Gawande say changed Bill Thomas’ life to raise his expectations?

5. What does Gawande say happens in the third stage of a country’s health care development?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Gawande characterize his daughter’s piano teacher Peg Bachelder’s final days?

2. What was Bill Thomas’ idea for bringing more self-reliance to the residents of Chase Memorial?

3. How does Gawande characterize the work that remains to be done in medicine?

4. What technique does Atul Gawande learn from a palliative care physician, and use with Jewel Douglass?

5. What does Gawande say goes into a “comfort pack” (162)?

6. How did Bill Thomas’ idea play out?

7. What triumph of Gawande’s was Gawande’s father able to witness, in his declining health?

8. How does Gawande describe what the real job of people in medicine should be?

9. What are the instructions Gawande’s father left, for the disposal of his remains?

10. How do Gawande’s father’s two doctors approach his condition differently?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Gawande does not say too much about the economic aspects of the questions he addresses, but families from different economic classes experience these problems differently. How does economics affect the outcome for aging and dying? How different are the poor from the middle class or from the wealthy, in this regard? Why do you think Gawande neglected to discuss class as an aspect of this problem?

Essay Topic 2

Write an evaluative review of Being Mortal. What is this book’s place in our culture? Who will find this book most useful? What are its uses? What are its limitations?

Essay Topic 3

“Happiness” seems to be an important concept in Being Mortal, as some people, like Alice Hobson, cannot be happy with their lot as their families move them to institutions. How do you measure happiness, and how do you factor happiness into decisions about your own future medical care? What needs to happen for happiness to be factored into the decision making around aging and dying? Choose three different scenarios from the stories Gawande describes, to say how happiness can be included, or what are the consequences if it is not included in planning.

(see the answer keys)

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