Title: The Making of a Cowboy Doctor
Author: Kyle Ver Steeg, MD
Publisher: Xlibris
ISBN: 978-1-7960-9754-2
Pages: 103
Genre: Memoir/Healthcare
Reviewed by: Carol Davala

Read Book Review

Across the globe, and particularly throughout the American West, the moniker of
“cowboy” conjures thoughts of traditional values, the spirit of adventure, and attributes
of independence, self-reliance, competence, and courage. While it seems such positive
core sentiments would serve to bolster a career, in The Making of A Cowboy Doctor,
author Kyle Ver Steeg, MD, sheds light on a 40-year struggle to maintain his freedom
and individuality while dealing with a progressively combative healthcare environment
intent on placing profit margins above the well-being of patients.

From a traditional middle-class upbringing and displaying early musical talents, to the
practical pursuit of a pharmacy degree and subsequent decision to enroll in medical
school, Ver Steeg’s thought-provoking story moves along in a relatively chronological
order. Ver Steeg openly reveals his reasons for becoming a doctor were his love of
science and his desire to become his own boss. He describes how a reading of Ayn
Rand’s classic Atlas Shrugged had a profound influence on his thinking, instilling in him
the idea that self-ownership gave an individual the right and responsibility to control
one’s own choices.

Recounting his residency years, Ver Steeg is quick to point out the most important
attributes he feels necessary for becoming a doctor. While training is a given, he deems
confident decision-making and honesty as priorities over technical skills, and recognizes
that a physician’s arrogance can result in deadly consequences. “Good judgement
comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement”, seemed a key
piece of advice offered by a mentoring surgeon that stayed with Ver Steeg throughout
the years.

Ver Steeg began his own private surgery practice in 1979 with little red tape. Within 5
years, managed care insurance companies began to dominate. In terms of
technological advancement, as the healthcare system outlawed competition and
instilled prohibitive regulations, costs began to soar. By the ’90s hospitals began buying
up doctors’ practices and multi-specialty offices and placing them under one clinic
name. When comments from the head of a new hospital group referenced the few
doctors like Ver Steeg who refused to join the conglomerates, Ver Steeg took the
administrator’s “cowboy” label to heart. Soon he replaced his professional white coat
attire with the likes of jeans, boots, and a Stetson hat, a nuance that helped put his
patients at ease.

Though ultimately Ver Steeg trained and worked extensively with laparoscopic gastric
bypass surgeries, at one point he ventured into the practice of hair and tattoo removal,
viewing it as a procedure that did not depend on the use of unethical fee-splitting
referrals.

Amidst the weight of his memoir’s subject matter, Ver Steeg does include some lighthearted moments. From humorous memories of med-school years, to a blunderous joke retelling that caused uproarious laughter among his OR team, the witty doctor declares”Only in rural, Iowa!” Now retired, it’s the home state where he continues to reside.

Ver Steeg’s personal story is a pointed and provocative read that offers insight into the
healthcare system and the clash between the focus and concerns of those working in
the trenches of the medical profession vs. the overseeing governing powers. Looking
back on 4 decades in private practice, he acknowledges the ever-rising costs of
healthcare, and speaks to the deepening monetary chasm that continues to divide
medical staff and administrators.

In true cowboy-style, as Ver Steeg shares his steadfast wisdom, determination, and
conviction in bucking the ever-changing medical system, ultimately The Making of A
Cowboy Doctor seems a cautionary tale. Fortunately, as readers experience the
downward spiral of the healthcare institution, hopefully Ver Steeg’s honest revelations
will help us recognize quality physicians who place the well-being of their patients above
the almighty dollar, and who look to serve their communities with the best of intentions.
This book is clearly written with a smooth style and sufficient detail to be engaging but
without being overly complicated. You do not have to be a doctor, or even in the
medical field, to relate to and love this book. But if you are familiar with the medical field,
it all rings true. A great read! This is indeed a provocative and insightful memoir.