Samuel Shem actually wrote a second, less known book about his residency in psych at what is almost certainly McLean Hospital. Roy Basch is back as the lead character. A bit less R-rated shenanigans, more introspection, less humor, longer read, but I enjoyed it. Really drives home the relative futility of theories in psychiatry if you don't have a heart and a good connection with a patient. It's called Mount Misery.
This one is not directly about psychiatry, but I really enjoyed Abraham Verghese's book My Own Country. He's now an IM professor at Stanford and was somewhat recently featured in an NYT article, but initially as a US-trained Indian medical graduate he worked in infectious diseases in Appalachian Tennessee, and was at the heart of treating the AIDS epidemic there in the late 1980s. Most of his patients were homosexual in a pretty socially conservative place, and at a time when AIDS was highly stigmatized in general. The book explores his growth around these issues, attempts to fit into that society, and the huge cost of his obsession with patient care to his family life. Great read.
Lastly, there's always Mikhail Bulgakov's collection of stories Notes of a Young Doctor or something along those lines. Best writer of the Russian/Soviet 20th century, but also a physician. This is his memoir of residency in a small village in the 1920(?s) where he was the only doctor around for ~50 miles, by horse drawn sled/carriage. Well written and really puts into perspective how much medicine has changed.
Enjoy the summer!
And, plus 1 for Heart Failure. It's spot on in a lot of ways.
