Gawande's early ally in pulling back the veil on medicine

A profile of renowned author Dr. Atul Gawande in the new Harvard magazine gives a glimpse of the surgeon's early days as a writer, including how he made some colleagues squirm.

While a resident a Brigham and Women's Hospital, for example, he wrote "I know I have seriously harmed patients because of fatigue" in a 1997 Slate column about work hours.

Brigham chief of surgery Dr. Michael Zinner would review Gawande's articles and take the heat from others.

"I had senior faculty flying into my office demanding to know how I could let this go on," Zinner told the magazine. "I suggested they go back and read the article."

When Gawande became writing for the New Yorker, the Brigham's public affairs department wanted to see his articles before submission, the Harvard magazine story says. Gawande knew that wouldn't fly with the New Yorker.

"Zinner stepped in and said, 'I’ll take responsibility,' " Gawande tells Harvard magazine. "Then [Zinner] said, 'You don’t have to show it to me.' "