Former construction laborer, cab driver, and dock worker, Michael Collins is also the former chief resident in orthopedic surgery at the Mayo Clinic. He is the author of two acclaimed medical memoirs, Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs, a chronicle of his journey from laborer to physician, and Hot Lights, Cold Steel, a description of his years as resident and moonlighter in rural Minnesota emergency rooms. Mike has written two other works of fiction, the Vietnam War-era, All Bleeding Stops, and the medical mystery novel, The Shieling. His most recent book, Retired Ground, describes his fifty-year odyssey searching for meaning in wild places. Mike is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the Loyola Stritch School of Medicine. He and his wife, Patti, were born, raised, and still live on the West Side of Chicago. Since his first book’s publication in 2005, Mike has lectured nationwide on medicine and writing. He has served as the Alpha Omega Alpha Visiting Professor at both the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and at the University of Minnesota Medical School, where he also delivered the 2016 medical school commencement address.
Former construction laborer, cab driver, and dock worker, Michael Collins is also the former chief resident in orthopedic surgery at the Mayo Clinic. He is the author of two acclaimed medical memoirs, Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs, a chronicle of his journey from laborer to physician, and Hot Lights, ...