Books to read before medical school...

Dry...A Memoir by Augusten Burroughs (non-medical)

Also, a lot of people on SDN have recommended the Atul Gawande book which is pretty good (called "Complications....(don't remember the rest). It's written by a surgeon talking about his experiences in medicine, the guy also talks frequently on NPR.

Another medical book, "Stiff", by Mary Roach. It's mainly about how cadavers have been used throughout the ages. It has one really cool chapter on transplants, namely that of transplanting monkey heads.

Has anyone read, "House of God"? How was it? How old and relevant is it to medicine today?

A must for all premed is "House of God" can't remember the author but if you type in the title on amazon.com you will get the book no prob. Amother rec. is "First do no harm" another great book and again I cant remember the title. The first book is a good fictional book to read and the second is based on the life of a doctor at UT Houston (lots of ethical issues are delt with in this book)

I second Franklin's first two suggestions. 'Complications: A surgeon's note on an imperfect science' was great I thought. Also read almost all of stiff and it is REALLY interesting. It definitely isnt written for the med student, more for the layperson. But still an interesting book.

I've also read White Coat, by Ellen Lehrner Rothman. Theres some pretty good stories in there too.

Sorry forgot about one more. I havent picked it up yet but I saw a book in the WWII section called "Nazi Doctors." Its about the atrocities these so-called "doctors" committed to the jewish people. Definitely a good ethics read. OK I'm done for good this time.

drdragon said:

A must for all premed is "House of God" can't remember the author

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Samuel Shem

"First do no harm" by Lisa Belkin
"House of God" by Sammuel Shem (funny book and insightful, I think it's still relevant to modern medicine)

Becoming a Doctor: A Journey of Initiation in Medical School by Melvin, Md. Konner

The Intern Blues: The Timeless Classic About the Making of a Doctor by Robert Marion


What about a definitive book on the status of healthcare today?
Innovations in medicine?

WelchAg04 said:

I've also read White Coat, by Ellen Lehrner Rothman. Theres some pretty good stories in there too.

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I read this as well, and I liked it. I agree, I thought there were lots of good stories and gave you insight into the different specialties.

House of God, House of God, House of God, House of God, and House of God would be my top five suggestions. That book is pure genius. If you love it like I do, also read Catch-22. It's not a med related book, but it does for war what House of God does for docs.

Okay, there are already a ton of threads like this, here's a good really extensive one. Why don't we add to the following thread:
great premed reads

and let this one die?