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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Howe does Hermann compare to Ben Taub and Methodist Hospital?

2. Why does Lin Weeks step down from her position as chair of the ethics committee?

3. Hermann was caught up in scandals until when?

4. How did the hospital's founder get rich?

5. What is Claire doing at the beginning of Chapter 21?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Armando's mental state at the beginning of Chapter 9?

2. What are the other two hospitals in Houston?

3. What happens to Oria Dismuke after Patrick's death?

4. What is Armando's condition, as described in the Epilogue?

5. What is Hermann Hospital's financial situation?

6. What happens to the Sparks family, in the four years following the events in the book?

7. What does Mary try to do for Armando in Chapter 18?

8. Who was the founder of Hermann Hospital, and how did he make his fortune?

9. Why did the courts revise Hermann's will after his death?

10. What is the hospital's situation when the book was written in 1988?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the actions and personalities of Patrick and Armando. What is different about their relationships with the hospital staff, and why? What are the similarities and differences in their home situations? What do you think would have happened if they had met? Why do they have such different attitudes about their respective illnesses? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 2

Compare Hermann Hospital to the other major hospitals in Houston, Ben Taub and Methodist. How does Hermann fit in with the other two? What sort of experience do Hermann's patients get in comparison to the other hospitals' patients? Why? Should Hermann strive to become more like one of the other hospitals? If so, which one? If not, why? Why does Belkin compare Hermann to these other hospitals? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 3

The Ethics Committee has strict rules regarding when it is appropriate to withdraw a patient's life support. Do you agree with the rules and standards they have? Why or why not? Do you believe it is ever appropriate to withdraw life support from a patient? Why or why not? If you were the family of one of the patients at Hermann, what would you have done, and why? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

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