Good books to read as a medical student?

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youngdocstudent

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What are some good books to read as a medical student, and why? What does it offer to the student?

Thanks!
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youngdocstudent said:
What are some good books to read as a medical student, and why? What does it offer to the student?

Thanks!
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I'd say reading non-medical books you're interested in (e.g. general non-fiction, biography, history, classic literature, science fiction, fantasy, comedy). It offers the student some fun and relaxation before/during med school by not always having med on your mind!

However, if medical non-fiction and similar lit is what's most fun and relaxing for you, then that's cool too, and you've gotten some good recommendations so far.
 
House of God by Samuel Shem, so you can understand the signs of burnout and the depersonalization of patients.

Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande, so you can understand why checklists became popular and why we compare everything in healthcare to the airline industry.

Battle Hymn of a Tiger Mother by Amy Chua, so you can understand your parents.
 
Read a book on motivational interviewing.

It is basically Jedi Mind Tricks but you can master it yourself. Doesn't matter what field you go into; I use this in the ER all the time. Works.
 
Even if it takes an entire semester to get through one book, a few minutes here and there of a non-textbook helped me through basic sciences.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach (and any of her other books too: Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex and Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal). She delves into the aspects of the human body so often skipped over in school (and what I think are the most interesting).

Just Like Someone Without Mental Illness Only More So: A Memoir by Mark Vonnegut (he only applied to one med school and got in: Harvard!). He talks about having schizophrenia and problems with the medical school system, it's competitiveness, etc.

Anything by Oliver Sacks, especially if you're interested in aphasias and the way the brain processes the world around it.

Enjoy!
 
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Interestingly, with Dr.Richard Marion's book, certain things have changed, eg., legal hours in residency practice and with each covering shift at 24 hours.
This issue is controversial with some. I think there is only so much you could or should do to the human body and spirit in residency training. I think it may be OK to take into considerations, such as a surgical procedure that is not a common or frequently seen enough in daily surgical residency. But in general, Marion's points are still very true and valid today, and still, there are many schools that segregate the student from a good amount of patient exposure in the first two years. I've seen excellent programs of nursing (Yes, indeed different from medicine, agreed.) incorporate exposure to patients early on in the training/education. Carrying some of the sciences over into other years, on a progression. Incorporate pathophysiologies with learning the foundational sciences more, such that students can see a connection and also interact w/ patients that suffer with such pathophysiologies and treatments. I certainly don't know how all schools teach these things, and there may well be a number that do it this way--or something like this--PBL, eg. I mean this is a good step forward, but depending upon how it is done, it can be limiting. I personally believe that one of the best ways to increase interest and solid learning is to intertwine the didactic with the application/clinical. I can see where this may indeed become more tedious and time-consuming for educators, and would require more educations that are indeed practicing physicians. And there, I think, is part of the rub.

Anyway, there are some good take-aways from Marion's book. It also explores the vast amount of humility physicians experience, should obtain, and keep. This has been somewhat of a problem in the "Good Ole Days" of medicine. Certain parts of that were not so good for patients, other physicians, or others of the allied health staff. It was also part of the invisible wall that separated parents from their children and families from their loved ones when sick. Family-centered care works. There are some downsides at times, but they are not entirely insurmountable and w/o recourse.
 
scoKraz4 said:
The emperor of all maledies. Great if you have an interest in oncology and surgery.
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Great read, but really throws radiation and surgical oncology under the bus. Treats both as barbaric, misguided preambles to the glory of chemotherapy. Never mind the fact that chemotherapy has never produced a durable cure in solid tumors. Well written otherwise and really fascinating. I've read it twice.

My favorite books which helped kindle my interest in surgery:
"Hot Lights, Cold Steel" and "Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs" by Michael Collins, an orthopod. Funny, well-written.
"Making of a Surgeon" by William Nolen, a general surgeon. Older, but a great read. As a junior resident, I really love his chapter on his first fumbling appendectomy.
"Cutting Remarks" by Sid Schwab, another general surgeon, author of the outstanding Surgeon's Blog. If you like his blog, the book is great.
"Forgive and Remember" by Charles Bosk. It's actually a sociological study on medical error and responsibility, as viewed through the lens of a surgical service. Drier than the above, but perhaps the best.

I like Atul Gawande's stuff, too, but most people are familiar with it.

Damn, there's no decent memoirs on otolaryngology...
 
VisionaryTics said:
Great read, but really throws radiation and surgical oncology under the bus. Treats both as barbaric, misguided preambles to the glory of chemotherapy. Never mind the fact that chemotherapy has never produced a durable cure in solid tumors. Well written otherwise and really fascinating. I've read it twice.

My favorite books which helped kindle my interest in surgery:
"Hot Lights, Cold Steel" and "Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs" by Michael Collins, an orthopod. Funny, well-written.
"Making of a Surgeon" by William Nolen, a general surgeon. Older, but a great read. As a junior resident, I really love his chapter on his first fumbling appendectomy.
"Cutting Remarks" by Sid Schwab, another general surgeon, author of the outstanding Surgeon's Blog. If you like his blog, the book is great.
"Forgive and Remember" by Charles Bosk. It's actually a sociological study on medical error and responsibility, as viewed through the lens of a surgical service. Drier than the above, but perhaps the best.

I like Atul Gawande's stuff, too, but most people are familiar with it.

Damn, there's no decent memoirs on otolaryngology...
Click to expand...

Ya cause you guys are too busy putting in ear tubes and pulling out thyroids
 
read the books for your courses and then use your free time to not use your brain
 
Seconding House of God. Everyone should read that book twice. Read it once as a first year and you'll find it mortifying. Read it as a resident and you'll find it hilarious.

Emperor of all maladies is incredible. Easy reading and great to see the history of cancer and better understand how we got to where we are now. Agree that it is definitely biased as chemo uber alles, but still worth a read.

Scalpel and the Soul is a great surgically oriented book but also applicable to the rest of medicine. Maybe a little touchy feely for some, but I found it rather moving.

Ditto Osler. I have mixed feelings at times about him, but he's the godfather of modern medicine and worth reading.

I'm also a fan of books on mindfulness. The Inner Game of Tennis is a very short and particularly powerful read. I think we often underestimate how much the mental side of things plays into our experience in training. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Repair is another classic in this genre.
 
VisionaryTics said:
Great read, but really throws radiation and surgical oncology under the bus. Treats both as barbaric, misguided preambles to the glory of chemotherapy. Never mind the fact that chemotherapy has never produced a durable cure in solid tumors. Well written otherwise and really fascinating. I've read it twice.

My favorite books which helped kindle my interest in surgery:
"Hot Lights, Cold Steel" and "Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs" by Michael Collins, an orthopod. Funny, well-written.
"Making of a Surgeon" by William Nolen, a general surgeon. Older, but a great read. As a junior resident, I really love his chapter on his first fumbling appendectomy.
"Cutting Remarks" by Sid Schwab, another general surgeon, author of the outstanding Surgeon's Blog. If you like his blog, the book is great.
"Forgive and Remember" by Charles Bosk. It's actually a sociological study on medical error and responsibility, as viewed through the lens of a surgical service. Drier than the above, but perhaps the best.

I like Atul Gawande's stuff, too, but most people are familiar with it.

Damn, there's no decent memoirs on otolaryngology...
Click to expand...
"Making of a Surgeon" is awesome. Excellent commentary on both how surgical education has changed (when the book was written, residents lived at the hospital) and how incredibly similar the fundamentals still are today (such a great description of what it feels like to fumble through your first big case). Highly, highly recommend.
 
I just found one good book " The Brain That Changes Itself".


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Parasite Rex by Carl Zimmer. This will actually change the way you see life and nature.

Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen. Amazing read about many different emerging infectious diseases.

The Journey of Man by Spencer Wells. It will change the way you think of humans and the cultures they have developed.

The House of God by Samuel Shem. Hilarious and should honestly be required for every incoming med student.

I was able to read all of these since the beginning of the calendar year by just reading 30 mins a night. It's not that hard to fit in some reading along with classes ... at least in first year.
 
1) Anything by Atul Gawande.

2) Cutting for Stone.

3) Saturn Run. If you enjoy Sci-fi and physics, oh my god read this book. It is awesome like 2001 Space Odyssey was awesome. Or the like how the Martian was awesome. On that note, read The Martian because the book portrays human emotion like the movie could not due to the PG-13 rating.

4) Do No Harm and The Emperor of All Maladies.

5) White Coat Investor. Thank me later.
 
Fission Chips said:
White Coat Investor. Thank me later.
Click to expand...

+1. Also checkout the Bogleheads forum. The sooner the better...

Some favorites:

1. Felson's Principles of Chest Roentgenology. It's a classic for interpreting CXRs that's oddly fun to read.
2. Fluid and Electrolytes Made Ridiculously Simple. Don't laugh at the title. A first-year renal fellow lent me her copy. I bought my own.
3. Patten's Neurological Differential Diagnosis. Holy crap the pictures. The last edition was printed in the 90s, and it's still popular amongst residents and attendings.
4. John West's Respiratory Physiology. Tough read (for me) that seems underappreciated in its subtly but tremendously rewarding. Read West's old papers too. "Causes of Carbon Dioxide Retention in Lung Disease" contained one of the best explanations for V/Q mismatch I've ever read. Written in the the 70s and still relevant.
5. The ICU Book. Why read this in first year? Because it beautifully ties together physiology in a clinically relevant way.
6. House of God. Should be required reading for all medical students.
7. Night Falls Fast by Kay Redfield Jamison. Sophisticated, practical, and beautifully written book on suicide. 10% (likely higher) of your student colleagues will feel suicidal at some point during medical school.
 
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Any of Gawande's, House of God, and Oliver Sack's books are commonly suggested.
I didn't read through everyone's suggestions, but if I read more, I'd make a conscious effort to read out of my field. It would keep me more cultured, aware of how the world outside of medicine works, etc. Try looking at the New York Times Best Sellers, but stay away from the junk like popstar biographies/extremely political books and focus on the business, personal improvement, and paradigm shifting books. Someone on here mentioned Outliers and that's a good example, I feel, of something paradigm shifting. The first two years of medicine are very dull, albeit busy, so reading something outside of medicine would be something to balance yourself out in my opinion.
 
Sometimes I feel like the only person who found House of God insanely boring. It's like the Dune of medical literature... It's talked up as the quintessential book of the genre but when I tried to read it, I really disliked it and felt let down.

Sent from my phone, sorry for any typos or brevity.
 
mehc012 said:
Sometimes I feel like the only person who found House of God insanely boring. It's like the Dune of medical literature... It's talked up as the quintessential book of the genre but when I tried to read it, I really disliked it and felt let down.

Sent from my phone, sorry for any typos or brevity.
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It's boring at the beginning but quickly picks up. If you didn't make it too far in, you should try again and stick with it.


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FindMeOnTheLinks said:
It's boring at the beginning but quickly picks up. If you didn't make it too far in, you should try again and stick with it.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
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I stuck with it at least halfway through and it didn't improve. If it does after this, it still won't be worth the horrible first half. I'll finish it before residency because it's a "classic", but it'll be one of those books I read because I ought to know what people are talking about, like Ayn Rand's, not because it's enjoyable for me. Actually, I take back that comparison...at least I could make myself finish Atlas, even if I had to skip much of Galt's annoying, overblown monologue.

Sent from my phone, sorry for any typos or brevity.
 
I try and read two books a month - one related to medicine and one as non-related to all things medicine as possible. I've listed the ones I read this past year below. Good on you for making time to read for pleasure during school!

Books related to medicine:

Weekends at Bellevue
Cutting for Stone (this is one of my all-time favorite books, I highly recommend)
The Checklist Manifesto
Mountains Beyond Mountains
Complications

Other books:

Room
Station Eleven
The Bone Clocks (very long but very worth it)
Bossypants
The Martian
 
I feel like everyone has their own cliche list of "good books for med studentz wheeee." While I don't want to regurgitate mine here, there are a few non-medical books that I've always found super interesting (rich character description/dissection, twisting of viewpoints/manipulation of empathy, etc). FWIW, when I read/re-read these books, I always find subtle analogies to difficult patients or "empathizing in spite of yourself."

Crime and Punishment
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
When Nietzsche Wept - Irvin Yalom
On the Road - Jack Kerouac

And yea, also House of God, Gawande's Completed works (minus Checklist Manifesto), Michael Collins's books, When Breathe Becomes Air, anything by Siddhartha Mukherjee, etc.
 
Is it worth my time to read House of God as an incoming M1 or is it usless without having the perspective gained from spending time on the wards?
 
I thought From the OR to the Morgue was a pretty good book. It's an autobiography that follows the fortunes of a Certified Nurse Practitioner with online surgical training as she overcomes obstacles in her operating career and eventually makes a killing in the funeral-home business.
 
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GaStu1994 said:
I don't, so I devour audiobooks every chance I get. It's much more efficient that reading! 🙂
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I tend to have the opposite reaction...audiobooks are so slow I get frustrated (even when sped up) and find it easier to just crank the damn things out reading on my own!
 
Hey late to this thread but I'm also in search of good books to read in anticipation of med school. Here's a couple that I've found interesting.

The Doctor Stories- William Carlos Williams

A Young Doctor's Notebook- Mikhail Bulgakov
 
Piskaupf said:
Lol i was trolling and you tried to correct me. And not only did you try to correct a troll post, you got it wrong. The author is herman melville lol
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And Ishmael is the narrator. Next time, read the damn book before you make a useless post.
 
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