ON SURGERY: A Physician Becomes the Patient Offers a Rare Look at Medicine From Both Sides of the Operating Room

OCALA, United States – October 20, 2026 – Physician and healthcare leader Scott Farrell, MD, draws on more than three decades of clinical experience—and his own experiences as a patient—to explore surgery, informed consent, medical decision-making, and the human side of healthcare.

What happens when a physician accustomed to examining, diagnosing, counseling, and operating on patients suddenly becomes the person wearing the hospital gown?

In his forthcoming book, On Surgery: A Physician Becomes the Patient, Scott Farrell, MD, offers a thoughtful, candid, and often humorous exploration of surgery from a perspective few people can provide: that of an experienced physician who has also repeatedly found himself on the other side of medical care. The book examines how becoming a patient changed Farrell’s understanding of medicine and ultimately influenced the way he communicated with and cared for his own patients.

Farrell spent more than 33 years practicing as an obstetrician-gynecologist. Over the course of his career, he came to understand that becoming a skilled surgeon involves far more than learning technical procedures. Experience, judgment, results, communication, and the ability to understand the individual patient all influence how and whether a surgical solution should be recommended. Farrell reflects that his own experiences as a patient contributed to the wisdom and maturity that shaped him as a physician.

At the heart of On Surgery is the relationship between physician and patient. Farrell examines the importance of informed consent and the five questions he believes every patient should understand before agreeing to treatment: What is being proposed? What are the risks? What are the benefits? What alternatives are available? And can the patient decline?

Farrell also encourages patients to become active participants in healthcare decisions. He asks readers to consider whether they truly understand their condition, the possible risks of treatment, what improvement should realistically look like, whether alternatives exist, whether they need more time to decide, and whether seeking another opinion would be appropriate. At the same time, he challenges healthcare professionals to consider whether they are giving patients enough time, explaining reasonable options clearly, and genuinely welcoming questions and second opinions.

But On Surgery is not written solely as a clinical discussion. Farrell brings these lessons to life through his own experiences with medical procedures and healthcare encounters. From his first surgeries and a vasectomy to colonoscopy, cataract procedures, hospitalization and episodes of memory loss, the physician repeatedly discovers that understanding medicine intellectually is very different from experiencing vulnerability, uncertainty, discomfort, and anxiety as a patient.

Those experiences also provide the book with an unmistakably personal and sometimes self-deprecating voice. Farrell openly acknowledges that physicians can know enough about medicine to make questionable decisions about their own care. One memorable example involves his attempt to treat a recurring skin lesion himself. After repeatedly cauterizing it rather than seeking appropriate evaluation, Farrell finally visited a dermatologist. A biopsy revealed basal cell carcinoma, ultimately requiring Mohs surgery—a lesson he recounts with humor but also with a clear message about the dangers of becoming one’s own doctor.

The book also reflects on how Farrell’s understanding of the physician-patient relationship evolved throughout his career. Technical surgical ability, once central to his view of medicine, gradually became secondary to communication and interpersonal skills. Most importantly, he learned to listen carefully to the people sitting across from him rather than simply focusing on the condition that brought them into his office.

Rather than portraying surgery as simply a procedure performed in an operating room, On Surgery: A Physician Becomes the Patient examines the decisions surrounding it—the judgment of the surgeon, the expectations and fears of the patient, the consequences that must be considered, and the conversations that should occur before anyone agrees to proceed.

Written for patients, families, healthcare professionals, medical students, and readers interested in understanding how doctors think when medical decisions become personal, On Surgery offers a perspective shaped by decades of medicine and strengthened by the realization that expertise does not eliminate vulnerability.

About the Author

Scott Farrell, MD, has served in numerous roles throughout his career in healthcare. He practiced as an obstetrician-gynecologist for more than 33 years and held leadership positions within his hospital’s medical staff and governing structure. He served on the hospital’s governing body for ten years, including five years in leadership capacities.

Following his retirement from clinical practice, Farrell served in administrative roles involving case management, quality and risk management, medical affairs, and as Vice President for Medical Affairs for more than four years. He also spent 12 years working as a hospital surveyor for a national healthcare-accrediting organization. He and his wife have been married since 1973, have two children and four grandchildren, and divide their time between Ohio and Florida.

Coming Soon

On Surgery: A Physician Becomes the Patient by Scott Farrell, MD is currently preparing for release.

Publication date, purchasing information, and retailer availability will be announced ahead of the official launch.

Media Contact
Company Name: The Book Publishing Pros
Contact Person: Scott Farrell
Email: Send Email
City: Ocala
State: Florida
Country: United States
Website: http://scottfarrell.net/