The Stories Medicine Never Says Out Loud in Pleasant View, New York City

When Dr. David Dosa published his account of Oscar, the nursing home cat who predicted patient deaths with remarkable accuracy, in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007, he brought mainstream attention to a phenomenon that veterinary behaviorists and hospice workers had observed for years: animals appear to perceive impending death through senses that humans do not share. In Pleasant View, New York City, New York, therapy animals in hospital settings have exhibited similar behaviors—gravitating toward specific patients, displaying distress before clinical deterioration becomes apparent, and showing preference for rooms where death is imminent. "Physicians' Untold Stories" by Dr. Scott Kolbaba places these animal behaviors within a broader context of unexplained perception in medical settings, alongside human experiences of anomalous knowing that share the same essential quality: information arriving through channels that science has not yet identified.

Dr. Scott Kolbaba

About the Author

Dr. Scott J. Kolbaba, MD is an internist at Northwestern Medicine in Wheaton, Illinois. He interviewed more than 200 physicians about their most extraordinary experiences.

Book cover

Physicians' Untold Stories

by Scott J. Kolbaba, MD4.5 stars (1018 reviews)

Miraculous experiences doctors are hesitant to share with their patients, or ANYONE!

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"Amazing Tales. Doctor's book details unexplainable outcomes." — Wheaton Suburban Life

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Medical Fact

The term "triage" was developed during the Napoleonic Wars by surgeon Dominique Jean Larrey to prioritize casualties.

Physician Burnout & Wellness Near Pleasant View, New York City

Physicians practicing in Pleasant View, New York City, New York work at the intersection of modern medicine and experiences that resist explanation. In conversations that rarely leave the break room or the on-call suite, doctors in and around Pleasant View, New York City have reported encounters with phenomena that their training never prepared them for — from patients who describe verifiable details about events that occurred while they were clinically dead, to deathbed visions shared simultaneously by multiple family members, to recoveries that defy every prognostic model available.

The medical community in Pleasant View, New York City includes physicians across every stage of their careers — residents navigating the exhaustion of training, mid-career practitioners balancing clinical demands with family life, and veteran physicians carrying decades of experiences that challenge the boundaries of conventional medicine. Burnout touches all of them differently, but a common thread runs through: the desire to remember why they chose medicine in the first place, and the rare but profound moments that remind them.

Physician Burnout by Specialty

Percentage reporting at least one symptom (Medscape, 2024)

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Medical Fact

Cataract surgery is the most commonly performed surgery worldwide — over 20 million procedures per year.

Ghost Stories and the Supernatural Near Pleasant View, New York City, New York

The Northeast's concentration of medical schools means that Pleasant View, New York City, New York has an unusually high population of people trained to observe, document, and analyze. When these trained observers report ghostly encounters in hospitals, the accounts tend to be precise, detailed, and maddeningly resistant to conventional explanation. A hallucination doesn't leave EMF readings. A draft doesn't turn on a cardiac monitor.

Ivy League medical schools have their own quiet folklore, rarely published but widely whispered. At teaching hospitals near Pleasant View, New York City, New York, anatomy lab cadavers have been the subject of unexplained events for generations. Doors lock and unlock themselves, dissection tools rearrange overnight, and more than one medical student has reported hearing a whispered 'thank you' while studying alone.

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Medical Fact

The pineal gland, sometimes called the "third eye," produces melatonin and regulates sleep-wake cycles.

Near-Death Experiences Reported by Physicians Near Pleasant View, New York City

The Northeast's harsh winters create conditions that occasionally produce accidental hypothermia cases near Pleasant View, New York City, New York—patients whose core temperatures drop below 80°F, whose hearts stop, and who are rewarmed and resuscitated hours later. These cases produce some of the most detailed NDE reports in the medical literature because the brain's reduced metabolic demand during hypothermia creates a wider window of potential consciousness.

The concentration of medical research institutions in the Northeast means that Pleasant View, New York City, New York physicians have access to an unusually rich body of consciousness research. From Columbia's neuroscience labs to Harvard's Mind/Brain/Behavior Initiative, the intellectual infrastructure for studying NDEs exists—what's been lacking is the institutional courage to use it.

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Did You Know?

The first medical X-ray of a living person was taken in 1896, just one year after Röntgen's discovery.

Physician Wellness, Grief & Finding Meaning Near Pleasant View, New York City

Emergency departments near Pleasant View, New York City, New York are places where the full spectrum of human suffering arrives without appointment. A heart attack at 2 AM, a child's broken arm on Christmas morning, an overdose on a Sunday afternoon. The ED physicians who staff these departments are the last safety net, and their willingness to care for whoever walks through the door—regardless of insurance, identity, or hour—is healing in its most democratic form.

Teaching hospitals near Pleasant View, New York City, New York are places where hope is manufactured daily through the unglamorous work of clinical trials. Each patient who enrolls in a study is placing their hope not just in their own recovery but in the possibility that their experience—good or bad—will help someone they'll never meet. The Northeast's research infrastructure turns individual suffering into collective progress.

Physician Burnout by Specialty

Percentage reporting at least one symptom (Medscape, 2024)

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Did You Know?

The average physician interacts with approximately 2,250 different medications during their career.

New York City: Where History, Medicine, and the Supernatural Converge

New York City's supernatural history is as layered as its streets. The island of Manhattan was considered sacred by the Lenape people, who believed certain areas held powerful spirits. In the 19th century, the city became a hotbed of the Spiritualist movement, with famous mediums like the Fox Sisters performing séances in parlors across the city. The notorious Five Points neighborhood—once the most dangerous slum in America—is said to be haunted by victims of its violent past. Washington Square Park was built atop a potter's field containing an estimated 20,000 bodies, and visitors have reported ghostly encounters there for decades. Hart Island, the city's public burial ground since 1869, holds over one million unclaimed dead and is widely considered one of the most haunted places in the United States. The New York Public Library's main branch is reportedly haunted by the ghosts of its benefactors.

New York City has been at the forefront of American medicine since the colonial era. Bellevue Hospital, established in 1736, introduced the nation's first ambulance service in 1869 and its first psychiatric pavilion. The city was home to the first successful open-heart surgery using a heart-lung machine, performed by Dr. C. Walton Lillehei's colleague Dr. John Gibbon's techniques refined at NYC institutions. During the 1832 and 1849 cholera epidemics, New York's medical community developed quarantine practices that shaped modern public health. The city also played a pivotal role in combating the 1918 influenza pandemic and later became a global center for HIV/AIDS research in the 1980s. Today, NYC's medical district houses more than 70 hospitals and some of the world's most advanced research facilities.

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Did You Know?

The phrase "first, do no harm" (primum non nocere) is commonly attributed to Hippocrates, but it actually doesn't appear in his writings.

Watch Dr. Kolbaba Share These Stories

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About the Book

The book addresses the psychological toll these experiences take on physicians — many described isolation and inability to share.

Notable Locations in New York City

Bellevue Hospital: America's oldest public hospital (est. 1736) is said to be haunted by the spirits of patients from its psychiatric ward and morgue, with staff reporting apparitions in the tunnels connecting buildings.

Merchant's House Museum: This 1832 Federal-style rowhouse in the East Village is considered Manhattan's most haunted building, with visitors and staff frequently reporting the ghost of Gertrude Tredwell, who died there in 1933.

Kings County Hospital: Brooklyn's historic hospital, opened in 1831, has long been reported as haunted by nurses and patients who describe shadowy figures and unexplained sounds in its oldest wards.

The Dakota Building: This iconic 1884 apartment building on Central Park West—where John Lennon was killed in 1980—has been the site of numerous ghost sightings, including reports of a little girl with a ball and a figure resembling Lennon himself.

Bellevue Hospital Center: Established in 1736, Bellevue is the oldest public hospital in the United States and a pioneering institution in American medicine, having created the first maternity ward, established the first ambulance service, and opened the first psychiatric ward.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital: Formed in 1998 from the merger of two historic institutions—New York Hospital (founded 1771) and Presbyterian Hospital (founded 1868)—it is consistently ranked among the top hospitals in the nation and is affiliated with Columbia and Cornell medical schools.

Mount Sinai Hospital: Founded in 1852 as Jews' Hospital, Mount Sinai became a world leader in medical research and education, known for pioneering work in cardiology, geriatrics, and genomics.

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About the Book

The book's central message — that there is more to human existence than what medicine can measure — resonates across cultural boundaries.

Medical Heritage in New York

New York has been the epicenter of American medicine since the colonial era. The Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, established in 1767 as the medical faculty of King's College, is the oldest medical school in the state. Bellevue Hospital Center in Manhattan, tracing its origins to 1736, is the oldest public hospital in the United States and pioneered America's first ambulance service in 1869, first maternity ward, and first cardiac catheterization. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, formed by the 1998 merger of Columbia-Presbyterian and New York Hospital-Cornell, consistently ranks among the top hospitals in the world.

The state's contributions to medicine are staggering in scope. Dr. Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine at the University of Pittsburgh but was born and educated in New York City, and the first mass polio vaccinations took place in New York in 1955. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, founded in 1884, became the world's preeminent cancer hospital. The New York Blood Center pioneered modern blood banking. Mount Sinai Hospital, founded in 1852, was one of the first hospitals to accept patients regardless of race, religion, or ability to pay. Upstate, the University of Rochester Medical Center and the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo have made foundational contributions to ophthalmology and oncology respectively.

Reader Ratings Distribution

Based on 1,018 Goodreads ratings

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Research Finding

Adequate sleep (7-9 hours) reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease by up to 40%.

Supernatural Folklore and Ghost Traditions in New York

New York's supernatural folklore spans from the colonial legends of the Hudson Valley to the urban ghost stories of Manhattan. Washington Irving's 1820 tale of the Headless Horseman was inspired by real Dutch colonial ghost stories from Sleepy Hollow (then called North Tarrytown), and the Old Dutch Church and Sleepy Hollow Cemetery remain pilgrimage sites for those drawn to the legend. The Morris-Jumel Mansion in Washington Heights, Manhattan's oldest surviving house (built 1765), is reportedly haunted by Eliza Jumel, whose ghost has been seen in a violet-colored dress; students from a nearby school fled in 1964 after reportedly seeing her apparition.

The Dakota apartment building on the Upper West Side, where John Lennon was murdered in 1980, has a long pre-existing reputation for hauntings dating to its construction in 1884. Residents including Lennon's widow Yoko Ono have reported seeing Lennon's ghost in the building's hallways. In the Adirondacks, Skene Manor in Whitehall—built in 1874 by Judge Joseph Potter—is haunted by the ghost of his wife, whose body he reportedly kept sealed in a vault beneath the house for years after her death. Rolling Hills Asylum in East Bethany, originally a county poor house opened in 1827, is considered one of the most haunted locations in the Northeast, with over 1,700 documented deaths on the property.

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Research Finding

A gratitude letter — writing to someone you're thankful for — produces measurable increases in happiness lasting up to 3 months.

Haunted Hospitals and Medical Landmarks in New York

Old Bellevue Hospital Morgue (Manhattan): Bellevue Hospital's old morgue in the basement of the original 26th Street building processed thousands of bodies over more than a century. Morgue workers over the decades reported bodies that appeared to shift position overnight, unexplained temperature drops, and the sound of whispered conversations in the cold storage rooms when no living person was present.

Kings Park Psychiatric Center (Long Island): Kings Park operated from 1885 to 1996 on over 800 acres of Long Island. At its height, it housed over 9,000 patients. Building 93, a towering 13-story structure, is the most investigated site—paranormal teams have recorded shadow figures, disembodied voices, and inexplicable cold drafts in the abandoned wards. The facility's history of lobotomies and insulin shock therapy contributes to its dark reputation.

One Amazon reviewer wrote: "I shivered. I cried. I read some out loud to the spouse. Please write more."

Physicians' Untold Stories

How This Book Can Help You

New York, home to the greatest concentration of hospitals and physicians in the nation, from Bellevue to Memorial Sloan Kettering, is a place where the sheer volume of clinical encounters makes the kind of unexplained phenomena Dr. Kolbaba describes in Physicians' Untold Stories statistically inevitable. The intensity of New York medicine—where residents at institutions like NewYork-Presbyterian see more death in a month than many rural doctors see in a year—creates conditions ripe for the extraordinary experiences Dr. Kolbaba, trained at Mayo Clinic and practicing at Northwestern Medicine, has carefully documented from physicians who dare to share what they've witnessed.

Dr. Kolbaba's accounts of physicians encountering the unexplainable resonate with particular force in Pleasant View, New York City, New York, where the Northeast's rigorous medical culture makes such admissions professionally risky. The physicians in this book aren't mystics—they're trained scientists who saw something that didn't fit their training, and had the courage to say so.

Physicians' Untold Stories book cover — by Dr. Scott J. Kolbaba, MD

Reader Ratings Distribution

Based on 1,018 Goodreads ratings

The consistency of these stories across different hospitals, specialties, and geographic regions is impossible to dismiss as coincidence.

Physicians' Untold Stories

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Discover the Stories Medicine Never Says Out Loud

Physicians' Untold Stories by Scott J. Kolbaba, MD4.5 stars from 1018 readers.

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Physicians' Untold Stories by Dr. Scott Kolbaba

Amazon Bestseller

The Stories Medicine Never Told You

Over 200 physicians interviewed. 26 true stories of ghost encounters, near-death experiences, and miraculous recoveries that will change the way you think about life, death, and what lies beyond.

By Dr. Scott J. Kolbaba, MD — 4.5★ from 1,018 ratings on Goodreads