Good medical reads: Beyond 'Complications' and 'House of God'

[CaptainJack02]

I've found some kickass medical books, beyond the usual Crichton/Cook/Gawande/Shem recommendations. Check it out, add your own, too!

Richard Selzer - Letters to a young doctor
Incredible writing for a medical doctor; Selzer is a Yale surgeon and this book is like a collection of old school blogs(letters ).

Jeffrey Drayer - The cost effective use of leeches
Really funny book by a Duke student about his journey through medical school, through all 4 years. Very entertaining.

When a doctor hates a patient, and other chapters in a young physician's life - Richard E. Peschel and Enid Rhodes Peschel
Really nice book written by a doctor/author couple on how medical studnets need to be exposed to more literary things. It takes "Case studies" of medical stories of patients and analyzes literary parallels. I felt it really opened up my perspective beyond the MCAT and biology. Medical stuff isn't unique to us - it's in literature throughout time.

The Med School Survival Guide : How to Make the Challenges of Med School Seem Like Small Stuff - Jennifer Danek
Awesome book, made up of 101 little "lessons." I KNOW I'll be reading and reareading this one once school begins. It's not just how to get thru med school unscathed, but also a lesson in living life.

Frank Vertosick, Jr. - When the air hits your brain
Really well written book about the journey of a neurosurgeon. *MUCH* better written and more realistic(less wannabe-inspirational crap), and less pretentious than Ben Carson's book.

The doctor stories - William carlos williams
I think he may have been the original Doctor/Writer. Short, just medically related short story type anecdotes.

The Poetry of Healing: A Doctor's Education in Empathy, Identity, and Desire - Rafael Campo
Full of terrific, articulate, and heartfelt poems about life seen thru a doctor's eyes. Reminded me that it's not all about the diseases - there are people, with histories and lives at the end of that stethoscope

On Call: A doctors days and nights in residency - Emily Transue
House of God for the modern medical student, and I think, better written. A very personal and well-written memoir of the author's experience as a resident.

Singular intimacies : becoming a doctor at Bellevue - Danielle Ofri
A collage of the author's experiences at Bellevue(NY). Beautifully written and very sincere.

Walk on Water: Inside an Elite Pediatric Surgical Unit - Michael Ruhlman
The title says it all. Really intense drama, obviously. Written by a non-medical "observer," it follows the work of Cleveland clinic's Roger Mee. Kinda repetetive in some parts, but overall, very inspirational if you are about to venture down the medical road.

Finally:
Hope in Hell: inside the world of Doctor's without Borders
Title says it all, lots of pictures and personal stories of the doctors who make up this incredible organization. I really want to do some stuff with them and this book gave me quite a detailed perspective on what the experience is like.

There are other Selzer books I like - Confessions of a Knife, Doctor stories,
Rituals of surgery, Mortal Lessons: notes on the art of surgery, and Down from Troy: a doctor comes of age. I really like Selzer - it's easy to see him as author first and doctor second. ANd he passes down good advice about surgery to future surgeons

Enjoy them, I sure as hell did. Please post some of yours so I can fill up my time from here to August

Cheers
Captjack

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[vikaskoth]

House of God is popular but the sequel Mount Misery, in my opinion, is better. If you liked the first youd enjoy this one also. If you are thinking about pediatrics don't read Intern BLues or do residency in the bronx.

 

[calstudent]

thanks for posting these!
i am definitely going to pick up the ofri. i read one of her articles in the n.e. journal a few months back, and she is just amazing.
i still think gawande is awesome. i could read his book 8 times over and not feel bored.

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

STICKY TIME! (for a few days, at least, please )

 

[Caesars0331]

If you are thinking about pediatrics don't read Intern BLues or do residency in the bronx.

This was one of the WORST pieces of trash I have ever had the misfortune of reading. From cover to cover this steamer was nothing more than whiney, spoiled, momma?s boys and girls complained about EVERYTHING.

I understand that resedencies are tough, trying times, but for christs sakes, 100,000's of people have completed them.

Pure drivel.

 

[wendywellesley]

read "singular intimacies" by dr. danielle ofri. it's SUCH a good book and will get you excited for med school!

thanks for this thread, i was thinking of posting something like this

 

[neuronerd]

For the neuro geeks out there like me, oliver sacks is a great writer too in my opinion. Famous books include: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, but I liked Seeing Voices too.

 

[JohnS]

I recommend How We Die by Sherwin Nuland. The essays are beautifully and informatively written. For a literary stamp of approval, it won the 1994 NBA.

Also, check out The Early History of Surgery . This one used to be a former Barnes and Noble bargain book. I believe it's out of print now, but may be purchased at Amazon. It's filled with interesting facts. For example, 13th century physicians using cobwebs to stop hemorrhaging.

Lastly, if you like Complications by Atul Gawande. Be certain to read Lewis Thomas's The Lives of a Cell. While not solely medical in nature, Thomas's writing greatly influenced Gawande.

Hope this helps.

John

 

[aparecida]

more books here: Any good books about medicine?

 

[bjackrian]

For a historical look at medical training, Robin Cook's The Year of the Intern was quite good, if for no other reason than it makes it clear that what we go through isn't as bad as it was 40 years ago. Robin Cook typically writes medical thrillers, but this book is an autobiographical account of his own intern years.

 

[Sparky Man]

I think 'Becoming a Doctor,' by Melvin Konner is a nice book, too.

 

[neuropower]

A Not Entirely Benign Procedure by Perri Klass was pretty good. She went to Harvard Medical School and had baby while she was there. She writes about all sorts of experiences that she had while in med school. I liked her writing. She seemed really down to earth.

 

[KeyLime]

I would also recommend the Orfi book. I just finished it last night. I think that it is very well-written!

 

[Caesars0331]

For the neuro geeks out there like me, oliver sacks is a great writer too in my opinion. Famous books include: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, but I liked Seeing Voices too.

Agreed!!

Sacks has some nice material out there. He appears every so often in the New Yorker as well. Check out his piece on "time" that is about a month old now. Great article.

 

[abraxas20]

For the neuro geeks out there like me, oliver sacks is a great writer too in my opinion. Famous books include: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, but I liked Seeing Voices too.

Agreed.

I will add "White Coat" by Ellen Lerner Rothman - her look at her own experience in medical school. Awesome book.

 

[Chankovsky]

awesome

 

[RiverPlate11]

another really amazing medical book is
Mountains Beyond Mountains
by Tracy Kidder
It tells all about Paul Farmer's escapades controlling TB in Haiti.
Truely Inspirational!

 

[medicomel]

I think 'Becoming a Doctor,' by Melvin Konner is a nice book, too.

I second that. I love the fact that the narrator was a nontraditional student.

 

[MD_Strategery]

First Do No Harm by John Rainer.
Very good book. From the very first page to the last I never put it down. Great for those interested in neurosurgery. Some pretty touching moments in the book also.

 

[madrigail]

Another really good book that I would recommend is "My Own Country: A Doctor's Story" by Abraham Verghese. It is the story of a young doctor coming face to face with the AIDS epidemic in rural tennessee. Though most of us aren't going to school in rural tn, it is a beautiful account of his coming to grips with his own mortality and how involved to become in patient's lives.

A+