“Have Scalpel – Will Travel”, tells how Dr. Peter G. Roode, a general surgeon, carved out a 17-year career in locum tenens (temporary, fill-in) surgery, which took him to 18 states mostly in the Midwest but also as far as Alaska and Hawaii. He describes his journey, as well as his experiences and encounters with different people in his aptly titled medical and surgical care memoir “Have Scalpel – Will Travel: Tales of an Itinerant Surgeon” (Fulton Books; 2022).

What does locum tenens mean? In Latin, it means, “to hold the place of.” In medicine, the American Academy of Family Physicians defines locum tenens medicine as “work consisting of a physician working temporarily in another practice, not his or her own. That practice may be in the physician's hometown or even in another state.” Dr. Roode also adds his definition of locum tenens medicine as:

…the practice of filling in for a regular medical practitioner who, for whatever reasons, is away from his or her practice. These temporary absences may be due to vacation, illness, or a call to active military duty. When this occurs, the choice is often between shutting that practice down or hiring temporary help.

What circumstances led Dr. Roode to practice surgery in a non-traditional way? During his time in Iowa, he suddenly found himself unemployed at age 50 after his medical group collapsed. Then came his calling to become an itinerant surgeon.

Dr. Roode shared in the introduction of “Have Scalpel – Will Travel:” “Unexpectedly, I was presented with an opportunity to provide two weeks of temporary coverage for a surgeon in Alaska… That first assignment was a joy. I was in a place where I was both welcomed and needed by the other physicians in town.”

What was supposed to be a trial for a year or so ended up being a seventeen-year adventure for him and his wife, Betty. This newfound medical calling brought him out of Iowa to 18 states, where he provided “temporary coverage on over 240 occasions at some 74 hospitals.”

They purchased and refurbished a used fifth-wheel RV so that they had a home away from home and also owned a twin-engine Piper Seneca, which they used to travel to their short-term assignment – all at the clients' expenses. (It should be noted that aviation has been one of Dr. Roode's obsessions, and he was fortunate enough to earn both single- and multi-engine commercial and instrument ratings.)

In “Have Scalpel – Will Travel,” readers get a glimpse of locum tenens surgery. The book covers the stories of 90 patients that the author cared for in his career, as well as encounters with different people and challenges to his career. The book, however, does more than just narrate the author's experiences but also reveals “the anxieties, doubts, and turmoil that can go through the average, run-of-the-mill surgeon's mind when facing a difficult situation, no matter how calm he or she may appear on the surface.”

The stories in “Have Scalpel – Will Travel” range from tragedies to triumphs with uplifting happy endings. They illustrate both the complexities of surgical care, especially in remote hospitals with limited resources, and the resilience of a locum tenens surgeon who played an important role in such hospitals.

Delve into the heart and mind of a locum tenens surgeon in Dr. Peter G. Roode's “Have Scalpel – Will Travel: Tales of an Itinerant Surgeon.” Available on Amazon and the author's website at http://havescalpelwilltravel.com/.

Catch the book display for “Have Scalpel – Will Travel” at the exhibit that self-publishing and book marketing company ReadersMagnet will host at booth 1147 for the 2022 American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference & Exhibition on June 24–27, 2022, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington D.C.

“Have Scalpel – Will Travel: Tales of an Itinerant Surgeon”
Author | Peter G. Roode, M.D.
Published date | January 31, 2022
Publisher | Fulton Books
Book retail price | $19.27

Author Bio

Dr. Peter G. Roode, a former Naval nuclear engineer, was accepted in the inaugural class at Hershey Medical School. He then completed his surgical training at Geisinger Medical Center in Pennsylvania. He practiced surgery in the traditional style in Pennsylvania and Iowa, until discovering the adventurous world of locum tenens (traveling) medicine.

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