Modern medicine has doubled human life expectancy. Yet, despite these Frankenstein-esque innovations, dissatisfaction with the current state of medicine remains widespread. Anxiety about over-technologised medicine is shared not only by the sickbed but by the doctor’s desk alike. Technology, its use and misuse, has thus become a leitmotif in the life writing of both patients and practitioners. While autobiographies of the past celebrated the marvels of science and technology, contemporary ones are filled with patients and practitioners struggling to navigate the cold, algorithmic and machine-mediated medical practice. Scholars in the medical humanities interpret this narrative movement as an act of activism, calling for a rehumanization of medical practice. Given that the patient’s narratives have been extensively explored, this paper aims to analyse a relatively recent trend: contemporary physician autobiographies, published between 2011 and 2025 (selected). By doing so, this paper situates their accounts within medical humanities debates, demonstrating how physicians utilize the genre of life writing to critique techno-driven medicine and advocate for rehumanization. That said, the proposed paper is organised into four sections (i) Good Servant, Bad Master, which warns against over-reliance; (ii) Death of the Stethoscope, reflecting on the rise of technocracy; (iii) The Ambivalent Attitude, where technology is seen as a double-edged sword; and (iv) Humanise the Dehumanise, which advocates for a cautious, balanced integration of technology in healthcare.

Authors:
Shalini M, Pondicherry University, India

About the Presenter(s)
Ms. Shalini M. is a PhD student at Pondicherry University, India, focusing on medical humanities in the Indian context.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shalini-moorthi-290024368/

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