William A. Nolen

Template:Short description Template:Redirect-distinguish William A. Nolen (March 20, 1928 – December 20, 1986) was a surgeon and author who resided in Litchfield, Minnesota. He wrote a syndicated medical advice column that appeared in McCall's magazine for many years, and was the author of several books.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He died on December 20, 1986, at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, from heart disease.

Career

Nolen's best-known book is The Making of a Surgeon, which continues to be a popular (though now dated) narrative about his experiences as an intern and resident surgeon-in-training at Bellevue Hospital in New York City.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref> Many students contemplating medical school find that it guides their decision.Template:Citation needed

Nolen conducted research at a 1973 Kathryn Kuhlman fellowship in Philadelphia, with 23 people who claimed to have been cured during her services.<ref name="NoHealing">Template:Cite news Also see: William Nolen, Healing: A Doctor in Search of a Miracle. New York: Random House Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Nolen's long-term follow-ups concluded there were no cures in those cases.<ref name="Pittsburgh1975">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref> Furthermore, "one woman who was said to have been cured of spinal cancer threw away her brace and ran across the stage at Kuhlman's command; her spine collapsed the next day, according to Nolen, and she died four months later."<ref name="Kuhlman">Template:Cite book</ref>

Nolen is also known for his book Healing: A Doctor in Search of a Miracle (1974). He spent two years examining faith healers and concluded that no patients with organic disease had been cured.<ref>Hyman, Ray. (1989). The Elusive Quarry: A Scientific Appraisal of Psychical Research. Prometheus Books. p. 342. Template:ISBN</ref> He investigated psychic surgery and discovered it was based on sleight of hand trickery.<ref>Neher, Andrew. (2011). Paranormal and Transcendental Experience: A Psychological Examination. Dover Publications. pp. 170-171. Template:ISBN</ref> He uncovered many cases of fraud.<ref>Williams, William F. (2000). Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience: From Alien Abductions to Zone Therapy. Facts on File Inc. p. 287. Template:ISBN "Minnesota physician William A. Nolen researched faith healing in general and wrote Healing: A Doctor in Search of a Miracle (1974), a book that uncovers many cases of fraud, including the first exposure in the United States of psychic surgery."</ref>

Publications

• The Making of a Surgeon. Mid List Press (1970, 1990) Template:ISBN
• A Surgeon's World. New York: Random House (1972) Template:ISBN
• Healing: A Doctor in Search of a Miracle. New York: Random House (1974) Template:ISBN
• Surgeon Under the Knife. Book World Promotions (1976) Template:ISBN

External links

• Template:Usurped from Mid List Press