top of page
Anchor 1

Bruce H. Campbell, MD FACS
Retired Head & Neck Surgeon | Author | Essayist

Norbert Blei August Derleth Award
A Fullness of Uncertain Significance - Bruce Campbell, MD FACS

My book of essays, published in 2021

Bruce Campbell, MD FACS
Where It Hurts: Dispatches from the Emotional Frontlines of Medicine

My short story, "Old Scrubs" appears in this collection

Most recent essay

With his willingness to delve beneath the surface, Bruce Campbell has created a deftly interwoven series of lessons gleaned from poignant moments of a fulfilling surgical career. In a warm, compassionate, and honest voice, Dr. Campbell delivers to the reader not just insights on medicine, but truths about humanity.






From Dr. Campbell:

Dr. Lee and I have both participated in MCW's writing group, the Moving Pens, and have been writing, editing, and publishing our books simultaneously. I have been privileged to hear her read aloud her parallel experiences as a physician caring for very sick children and as a mother of a special needs child. Her writing is clear, heartfelt, honest, compelling, and flawless.


Having her read my book ahead of publication was an honor.



To pre-order copies of A Fullness of Uncertain Significance and Catastrophic Rupture, visit: https://www.ten16press.com/shop


 
 
 

Humorous and humble, serious and sublime, these lean essays offer a glimpse behind the surgical drape to show what it’s like to be a cancer surgeon over the course of a long, rewarding career. From Campbell’s first invitation into the “inner sanctorum” of the O.R. as a nurse’s aide while in college, through tender interactions with patients, to his projections about the profession when he is long gone, this smart, sensitive surgeon illustrates how doctors can listen to, care for, and learn from their patients. He courageously goes to the “hard places” as well as sharing those special moments that make it all worthwhile. Early in the collection, Campbell writes, “Besides being a surgeon, I am also a human being.” This beautiful book is about both.



Kim Suhr, MFA, author of Nothing to Lose; Director of Red Oak Writing





From Dr. Campbell:


A Fullness of Uncertain Significance would never have made it to the finish line without the many talents of Kim Suhr. I joined Red Oak Writing, of which she is the director, at the point when I was just starting to think about compiling essays into a book. I met many of the "Red Oak Folk," whose experiences shaped my own, whose honest critiques of my writing served to improve my work, and whose own writing inspired me. Kim also agreed to facilitate a writers group, The Moving Pens, on the Medical College of Wisconsin campus that helped me shape new work and pushed me to complete the publishing journey.


Kim read the collection when it was ready for the first edits. She gave me advice based on her own publishing experience. When it was time, she encouraged me to contact Shannon Ishizaki at Ten16 Press. She has been supportive at every step.


Asking her to be one of my advance readers was a no-brainer! She is a gem.





To pre-order A Fullness of Uncertain Significance, visit: https://www.ten16press.com/shop

 
 
 

In lucid and succinct vignettes, Dr. Campbell illuminates the myriad of emotions and sensations that accompany a life in surgery. These stories of persistence, camaraderie, shame, grief, guilt, and regret are told with a deep humility that springs from a

vantage point of experience. These ideas serve as the springboard to discuss unique, personal insights whose wisdom is of import to anyone in the healing profession. With elegant and engaging prose, Campbell beautifully expresses the honor it is to be a physician.



William Lydiatt, MD, Chief Medical Officer Nebraska Methodist and Women’s Hospitals and Professor of Surgery, Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska




From Dr. Campbell:

Dr. Lydiatt is a renaissance person, a brilliant head and neck surgeon, and an enthusiastic supporter of the medical humanities. In addition to his extraordinarily busy schedule as a compassionate and accomplished cancer surgeon, he is a national leader in cancer policy. He is also a faculty member in the University of Nebraska Omaha Medical Humanities program where he has teamed with others, such as poet Ted Kooser, painter and portraiture artist Mark Gilbert, and poet/writer Steve Langan to explore the places where the arts and medicine intersect. I was delighted when he was willing to read my book.




To pre-order A Fullness of Uncertain Significance, visit: https://www.ten16press.com/shop

 
 
 

©2025 - Created on Wix.com

bottom of page