good doctor book

[CurlyQSue]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I would love any recommendations on books relating to the journey to becoming a physician/ the experience of being a physician. Ideally, a book written by a physician about their own experiences (not a "how to get into medical school guide"). I have found so many online, and I would really appreciate any input on the ones that people have found to be particularly helpful and good. Thanks!

 

[mave]

"Complications" by Atul Gawande.

 

[xx216xx]

On Call by Dr. Transue is a book I'm reading right now and I would say it might be something worth looking into for your purposes. She talks about her experiences being a intern and resident by discussing different cases she has been involved with and the emotions she experienced with each as well as the entire journey. She did her residency training in internal medicine at U of Washington in Seattle and received her M.D. from Dartmouth if that matters.

 

[carrie198]

I really liked "White Coat" by Ellen Lerner Rothman- an honest account of her experience at Harvard Medical School and "Gifted Hands" by Ben Carson, which covers his journey from poverty in inner-city Detroit to becoming the chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins.

 

[ZagDoc]

"Complications" and "Better" (***** stars, both)

"Hot Lights, Cold Steel" (***** stars)

"When the Air Hits Your Brian" (***** stars)

"How Doctors Think" (**** stars)

"Final Exam" (***** stars)

"Just Here Trying To Save a Few Lives" (*** stars)

 

[arsenewenger]

Another day in the frontal lobe...excellent book from the first female neurosurgeon trained at Pittsburgh.

 

[hamidace]

"The man who mistook his wife for a hat" by Dr. Oliver Sacks.

Dr. Sacks is a famous neurologist and this book contains several amazing cases he worked on. It was very interesting and I enjoyed it a lot.

 

[DocWalken]

I can't believe nobody suggested House of God by Samuel Shem! This book is a true classic-ask any doctor and they will tell you they've read it. It's a very humorous yet insightful look at the hardships of internship year and recent medical school graduates dealing with the realities of medicine. It's a really great story that made me think a lot about medicine.

 

[sharmei17]

hope you cAn read "nothing lasts forever" by Sydney Sheldon. The story is all about 3 women doctors...


Can you tell me how to post a new thread coz I'm really confused in here!

I'm turning 18 and a psychology undergrad...

 

[waitforme]

"what i learned in medical school" compilation of memoirs/stories by past med students

 

[svantastic]

I really liked the book Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. It doesn't sound exactly like what you're looking for, but I found it to be very inspirational and moving and very relevant to those of us going into medicine. It's about Paul Farmer, a physician I admire greatly. Great post topic - I think I'm going to read some of these other books people have mentioned!

 

[Kiara08]

INTERN BLUES

it was so good and would be a great book for any significant others or family members to read so that they can better understand the time commitment required in medicine.

this books follows a few doctors through their intern years in diary format.

 

[LizzyM]

We had a good thread about books a year ago... many excellent suggestions. I still stand by my suggestions of Bosk, Lantos & Selzer

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=293681

 

[sanchopanza]

Medical Nemesis, by Ivan Ilych.

It'll send you through a whirlwind.

 

[LizzyM]

I can't believe nobody suggested House of God by Samuel Shem! This book is a true classic-ask any doctor and they will tell you they've read it. It's a very humorous yet insightful look at the hardships of internship year and recent medical school graduates dealing with the realities of medicine. It's a really great story that made me think a lot about medicine.

Very dark humor and a book I've enjoyed more than once. However, keep in mind that it was written in the 1970s and reflects hospital care of that era. Back in 1970, the average length of stay for a senior citizen was ~13 days. Today it is <6. The advent of DRGs in the 1980s severely curtailed the previous incentives to perform unrelated procedures on elderly hospital patients and HMOs did the same for younger patients. DNRs, hospice care and the like have, I think, reduced somewhat the transfers of the dying to the emergency department.

It is still wickedly funny satire but not a reflection of how medicine is practiced today. (Read it as you might read Dickens -- still a good read but not a reflection of the way things are today).

 

[IDdoc2018]

anything by Jerome Groopman

 

[Crimson doc]

Doctors: The biography of Medicine By Nuland.

 

[prmdbeach17]

I second

"On Call" by Emily Transue
"Complications" by Atul Gawande
and "Final Exam" by Pauline Chen

in that order.👍

Ahh also "Another Day in the Frontal Lobe"..by Katrina Firlik (sp?)

 

[SB100]

anything by Jerome Groopman

I've only found a couple of his books in B&N 🙁 I really liked "How Doctors Think" and wish there was more.

 

[ERmed3eb]

Atul Gawande's new book Better: A Surgeons Notes on Performance is really good and of course Complications is amazing!

Katrina Firlik's Another Day in the Frontal Lobe is one of my favorites.

Also, When Air Hits Your Brain is amazing

And, House of God is a must!

 

[Hindiana_Jones]

All the above books listed are great. I also recommend :Walk on Water: Inside an Elite Pediatric Surgical Unit". The title says its all. Its about Roger Mee - one of the best surgeons in the nation - and the other surgeons and staff who worked under him. One of the surgeons who trained with him was Johnathan Drummond Webb, who was also one of the best peds Cardiothoracic surgeons, but unfortunately he committed suicide. Its a great book, it gives you insight into both how a surgeon works and thinks, as well as how a surgical ward functions.