Book recommendations

[fireflygirl]

The House of God - Samuel Shem

Ok, so I just got 1/2 way through this and had to put it down. It is one of the most depressing medically related book I've ever read. I realise that there are some parts of it that real and facet of it that we are going to experience, but I do think that certain aspects of it have dissolved and are simply reminiscient of when my dad was in residency about 25 years ago.

But then a friend of mine did remind me that we are still in that stage when we think we can help everyone and not completely aware of the realities of medicine that House of God does touch upon. I guess as much as I don't want to admit, I still find "hope" in all medical cases and am still under the premonition that I can help everyone.

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[DenaliView]

I love medical memoirs and have read at least half a dozen. As I was walking around the bookstore yesterday I decided it would probably be a good idea to strive for a little more well roundedness and ventured out of the memoirs and over to the general fiction section. Within 5 minutes (without looking for it) I came across the book The House of God. I picked it up and made it through the first chapter but was not all too impressed. The crudeness is incredibly distracting and when the author talks about his "code fantasy"...I can't help but find it a bit disturbing. While the idea behind the book is good; the author allows you to see the torment and brokenness he is experiencing after his training I just am not sure I will make it through too much more... Anyone else find this book a little bit much, or does it get better is subsequent chapters...


On call by Emily Tansue is really good. It felt like an honest portrayal. She was able to talk about the difficult parts of he job as well as the great moments....

 

[aemed724]

Ok, so I just got 1/2 way through this and had to put it down. It is one of the most depressing medically related book I've ever read. I realise that there are some parts of it that real and facet of it that we are going to experience, but I do think that certain aspects of it have dissolved and are simply reminiscient of when my dad was in residency about 25 years ago.

But then a friend of mine did remind me that we are still in that stage when we think we can help everyone and not completely aware of the realities of medicine that House of God does touch upon. I guess as much as I don't want to admit, I still find "hope" in all medical cases and am still under the premonition that I can help everyone.

I did the same thing you did, I got 1/2 way there and didnt pick up the book for about a week or two.

 

[MilkmanAl]

The Guide to Getting it On by Paul Joannides. Nuff said.

 

[pdeco1]

Any books for pre meds who think medicine is for them but are not sure?

 

[LizzyM]

The House of God. ..I picked it up and made it through the first chapter but was not all too impressed. The crudeness is incredibly distracting and when the author talks about his "code fantasy"...I can't help but find it a bit disturbing. While the idea behind the book is good; the author allows you to see the torment and brokenness he is experiencing after his training I just am not sure I will make it through too much more... Anyone else find this book a little bit much, or does it get better is subsequent

Interesting side note: The Center for Literature, Medicine and Biomedical Humanities of Hiram College and the Divisoin of Medicine of the Cleveland Clinic is holding a two-day Symposium in October on the 30th anniversary of the publication of House of God. See http://litmed.hiram.edu.

Some of the featured speakers will include physicians from UT Galveston, U Michigan, Brown, NYU, Albert Einstein and the author, a physician and retired member of the Harvard med school faculty.

 

[LizzyM]

Any books for pre meds who think medicine is for them but are not sure?

What Color is your Parachute? has been around as long as it has because it is good.

More than reading, you need to be thinking about your talents, the talents needed in various professions, and whether you are a good fit in medicine or in another field. (I considered medicine at one point but didn't feel I did well in situations of sleep deprivation and decided to pursue other interests which ended with an appointment to the med school faculty-- funny how things go like that.)

 

[therocketman]

You guys should try out Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig and The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn. They are both interesting reads.

 

[wasvsdal]

Great thread. I hope they make this a sticky.

Luckily I do have something to add to this already massive pile of books.

Intern by Sandeep Jauhar

If you are looking to get some kicks, and want to sharpen the art of picking women (and for women, being able to avoid the bull****)..The Game by Neil Strauss

 

[Green Grass]

Moore's "Clinically Oriented Anatomy"...mmm I can't get enough of it. lol.

 

[bonvoyage]

Boo, that book sucks. I put it down halfway through and never picked it up again. If you want a good book, try Cutting Remarks, by Dr. Sid Schwab. It's about his surgical training at UCSF, and it's really really good. He's got a blog - http://surgeonsblog.blogspot.com - that's also good.

is that like Ata Gawande book? i havent read either, but i thought i would read that one to learn about what's it like to be a surgeon? i read "cold steel hot rods" and liked the book, though i kind of lost interest in surgery.

also could anybody suggest a book about a life of a cardiologist?

and what do u all think of "intern blues"? is it a good book for someone looking for general info about med school life and the various specialties that he might go into? i'm really looking for something similar to cold steel high rods but describing a different specialty

 

[bonvoyage]

You guys should try out Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig and The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn. They are both interesting reads.

i'd rather read a solid 19th century fiction.

 

[invincibles]

What Patients Taught Me: A Medical Student's Journey by Audrey Young (Author)
Cutting Remarks: Insights and Recollections of a Surgeon by Sidney Schwab
Across the Red Line: Stories from the Surgical Life by Richard C. Karl
Paul Yu Remembered: The Life and Work of a Distinguished Cardiologist by Jules Cohen and Stephanie Brown Clark
Unquiet Life: Memoirs of a Physician and Cardiologist by J.F. Pantridge
Doctor to the North: Thirty Years Treating Heart Disease Among the Inuit by John H. Burgess (Author)

 

[Bacchus]

Just because this got bumped...

I read two really good books in my anthropology class this semester:

The Spirit Catches you and You Fall Down
Dancing Skeletons

The first is about a Hmong family that was evacuated from Laos. The story chronicles their daughter, Lia, who goes undiagnosed with epilepsy for some time as she navigates healthcare in America. Good read.

The second is about an anthropological study my professor contributed to. However, the main investigator wrote the book. It details malnourishment and efforts to correct it in Mali, Africa.

 

[pharm B]

Regarding "Intern Blues"

I picked it up about a year ago and read through it pretty quickly. It was interesting to read the life of three (or was it four) mid-1980's interns in the Pediatrics field. It was a good read, I thought.

Having served in the Navy, I've seen how women can be treated differently. One big example is a woman getting pregnant while attached to a ship. If she gets pregnant, she normally is transferred to a shore command immediately. This breeds quite a bit of resentment from the male population that have no such control over their time they have to serve aboard.

This issue is somewhat addressed as one of the females gripes and complains (all through the book) about how she is not treated fairly. I believe she is pregnant through the book. If I remember rightly, the book looks at a previously male-dominated profession and shows how it is willing to work around her pregnancy.

 

[KempDrumsalot]

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

Its a decent read.

I recently grabbed it from the library after reading the back cover. Sadly, I didn't get around to reading it.

Swimming is a fantastic book and an extremely addicting read. I ran on 4 hours of sleep this week reading it.

 

[MadEvans]

Paul Farmer's "Mountains Beyond Mountains" -

I'm reading this one over the winter break.

 

[Lippert7]

The Hot Zone, The Longest Night, American Plague are all great.
If you want to stray away from the medicine subject matter I would go with The Castaways of the flying dutchman series, it is light reading but the books are fantastic.

 

[Dr Lyss]

The Hot Zone, The Longest Night, American Plague are all great.
If you want to stray away from the medicine subject matter I would go with The Castaways of the flying dutchman series, it is light reading but the books are fantastic.

LoVe book threads. I've been reading more than ever because I finally have the time to. Here are some of my faves:

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell & The Tipping Point (same author)
-really interesting books & light reads. Blink is about the subconscious and snap judgments. The Tipping Point is about a whole mess of stuff but I guess why we we do what we do. very interesting

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
- a bit longwinded but very interesting story of a hermaphrodite & his family history (will become a movie one day)

Complications by Atul Gawande & Better
-interesting perspectives on medicine

Dreams of my Father by Barack Obama
-I'm reading this one now

Medical Apartheid
-history of medical research and African Americans & why many AA distrust medicine

Rachel and Her Children by Jonathon Kozol (or anything by Kozol)
-AmAzInG book about the plight of homelessness. Amazing Grace is another intersting book by him

Growing Up Empty by Loretta Schwartz-Nobel
-a study of the hunger epidemic at all levels, from the homeless to the upper class (you'd be surprised), using vignettes. very powerful book

 

[kansaskid]

A Map of the Child by Darshak Sanghavi. I'm reading it now and it's amazing. It's a book essentially about anatomy, but it weaves in personal stories of the author from medical school through his pediatric residency. It's great.

 

[Brodiewankenobi]

The Spirit Catches you... thumbs way down .

Mountains beyond mountains . (just my opinion though)

 

[rabidpanda13]

Has anyone been on any interviews where they asked about recent/favorite books you have read? I have had that asked in interviews for other things I didn't know if that was something they would ask during med school interviews.

And my 2 cents : A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

 

[justdoit31]

Has anyone been on any interviews where they asked about recent/favorite books you have read? I have had that asked in interviews for other things I didn't know if that was something they would ask during med school interviews.

And my 2 cents : A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

yes I have been asked that question at both of my interviews- specifically what is the most recent and why you do or do not like it...

I was a lil shocked about it but regrouped and survived the question.

My Choices-
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Five Chimneys (a females account of Auschwitz/Birkenau with medical accounts as she was in the "hospital" some)

 

[yangxx2]

Twilight.
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**waits to get flamed**

Only kidding. I've never read it
But I second the Mountains beyond Moutains..truly inspiring!

 

[Dulcina]

Anna Karenina
100 yrs of Solitude
<a vote against pride and prejudice, blech!>
brief interviews with hideous men
wuthering heights
1984
heart of darkness
winter of our discontent