Book review: A Doctor’s Notes: Taken from both sides of the bedsheets.

Issue: BCMJ, vol. 51, No. 9, November 2009, Page 403 News
By: David R. Richardson, MD

Book cover for A Doctor’s Notes: Taken from both sides of the bedsheets.

By T.F. Godwin, MD. Surrey: Hancock House Publishers, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-88839-654-9. Paperback, 368 pages. $29.95.

I recently read A Doctor’s Notes: Taken from both sides of the bedsheets, by Dr Tom Godwin. Admittedly, it would have been nicer if Kate Winslet had read it to me while I sipped white wine on the patio—I love her voice—but the experience was pleasant nevertheless. Dr Godwin spent his cardiology career at the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster. 

As I spent my rotating internship at RCH, I have a special interest in his book. However, I am a little upset that Tom didn’t mention me in his chapter “Medical Buddies” as one of the most influential medical people in his life, but he probably didn’t want to embarrass me.

Dr Godwin’s memoirs are a journey from his youth to present day. I know he’s not dead yet as I recently saw him walk past my office in Langley. Dr Godwin was always a practical, call-it-like-he-saw-it kind of guy. His words weave interesting tales of patients, advances in medicine, and hospital challenges. 

He is frank, honest, and unpretentious, not to mention entertaining. He also shares heartfelt stories of hardship and joy involving his family. Dr Godwin has had a full and fascinating life as evidenced by his chapter called “Hobbies.” I’m not sure how he managed to fit everything in. Lastly, he poignantly shares his own health struggles, which eventually led to his retirement.

This mid-sized book has something for everyone but would be particularly enjoyable to anyone whose life was touched by Dr Godwin, and I’m sure there are many of us.

—DRR

David R. Richardson, MD. Book review: A Doctor’s Notes: Taken from both sides of the bedsheets. . BCMJ, Vol. 51, No. 9, November, 2009, Page(s) 403 - News.


Above is the information needed to cite this article in your paper or presentation. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommends the following citation style, which is the now nearly universally accepted citation style for scientific papers:
Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL, Marion DW, Palmer AM, Schiding JK, et al. Solid-organ transplantation in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med. 2002;347:284-7.

About the ICMJE and citation styles

The ICMJE is small group of editors of general medical journals who first met informally in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1978 to establish guidelines for the format of manuscripts submitted to their journals. The group became known as the Vancouver Group. Its requirements for manuscripts, including formats for bibliographic references developed by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), were first published in 1979. The Vancouver Group expanded and evolved into the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which meets annually. The ICMJE created the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals to help authors and editors create and distribute accurate, clear, easily accessible reports of biomedical studies.

An alternate version of ICMJE style is to additionally list the month an issue number, but since most journals use continuous pagination, the shorter form provides sufficient information to locate the reference. The NLM now lists all authors.

BCMJ standard citation style is a slight modification of the ICMJE/NLM style, as follows:

  • Only the first three authors are listed, followed by "et al."
  • There is no period after the journal name.
  • Page numbers are not abbreviated.


For more information on the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, visit www.icmje.org

BCMJ Guidelines for Authors

Leave a Reply