Pre-Med Books to read over break

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vicinihil

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so break is here :laugh: the learning stops for a month....but there is BARNES AND NOBLE! 🙄

to all my friends out there that can read...what books would you suggest reading??? I'll try and start the list

Complications- Atul Gwande
On Doctoring- Reynolds
Emergency Doctor- Edward Ziegler
On Call: The Making of a Doctor from Internship to Residency- Emily R. Transue
 
🙁 it's break. why don't you read fun stuff instead?

you can always read those books right before writing your med school apps or smthng.

on the other hand, if that's what really interests you ( 😱 ), go for it 🙂
 
vicinihil said:
so break is here :laugh: the learning stops for a month....but there is BARNES AND NOBLE! 🙄

to all my friends out there that can read...what books would you suggest reading??? I'll try and start the list

Complications- Atul Gwande
On Doctoring- Reynolds
Emergency Doctor- Edward Ziegler
On Call: The Making of a Doctor from Internship to Residency- Emily R. Transue
Click to expand...

i love doctor books. i'm going to read House of God during break (it's a classic!)
i would also recommend Singular Intimacies by Danielle Ofri. It's by this woman, Ofri, who writes about being a 3rd year, 4th year and resident at bellvue in NYC. It's sweet and a quick read.
 
i love doctor books. i'm going to read House of God during break (it's a classic!)
Click to expand...

House of god is great, and I liked the sequel too. But it's not at all a realistic representation of an internship year. oh well. 😛
 
funshine said:
🙁 it's break. why don't you read fun stuff instead?

you can always read those books right before writing your med school apps or smthng.

on the other hand, if that's what really interests you ( 😱 ), go for it 🙂
Click to expand...


As far as Ochem books and Bio books go, I'd consider the above pretty fun reading.
I'd also add: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall, required reading at some medical schools, a heartbreaking story about the experience of a family from Laos with the medical system here. Really good.
 
read anything by Oliver Sacks.
 
Embily123 said:
read anything by Oliver Sacks.
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I second that. Great collections of short stories in "The man who mistook his wife for a hat"

Oh, for what its worth, I thought Complications sucked.
 
Has anyone read My Own Country by Abraham Verghese? It's a personal account of an infectious diseases doctor in rural Tennessee (I think, it's been a while) after the first reported case of AIDS. Very sad, but hopeful too. I plan on reading Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers over break. 🙂
 
Oh man oh man...i enjoyed complications thoroughly. Maybe because it was the first such books that I've read. I mean i look at it as more didactic than anything. Where else can you learn about Pulmonary Emboli and gastric bypass. I think it leaves the reader in a sort of dream like world where it's like...wow I wish i can make these bonds with my patients, etc etc. Though I have to agree his first section was by far the best because it was an insightful look into medicine and the "catches" of it. However the rest of the book focuses on patient interaction and peculiarities in medicine. So i found it interesting 🙂 :laugh:
 
arisunomori said:
As far as Ochem books and Bio books go, I'd consider the above pretty fun reading.
I'd also add: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall, required reading at some medical schools, a heartbreaking story about the experience of a family from Laos with the medical system here. Really good.
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yeah...it's just that, don't you have enough time in med school (and after) to read all those books about healthcare-related issues?

why not take the opportunity now to read great literature like war and peace? might as well read it now as opposed to later when you sacrifice your life in the hospital/lab.
 
I finished reading On Call by Transue recently. I found it an excellent account on how life is the first couple of years of residency. I'm going to start stockpiling NoDoz now.
 
Educate yourself. Pick up a copy of "Brothers Karamazov" by Dostoevsky, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (the best translation out there), and think about the issues in it! You will not regret it, plus it's tons of fun!
 
White Coat by Ellen Rothman Lerner is whiny but pretty good. Its about surviving Harvard Medical School.
 
Caesars0331 said:
I second that. Great collections of short stories in "The man who mistook his wife for a hat"

Oh, for what its worth, I thought Complications sucked.
Click to expand...

The man who mistook his wife for a hat! I had to read that in high school...amazing story.

And Complications did suck...in fact I have it sitting in front of me right now. Way to diagnosis strep a genius...

Man I sound angry...Atul Gawande has accomplished way more than me...so far...
 
Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas. Im chompin on it right now, great philosophy and wisdom book.
 
Books about medicine almost invariably suck. I can't say that I've ever read a really good one. All pre-meds go bonkers about House of God because it's sort of edgy, and ignore the fact that if it was about law or the military or anything other than medicine they'd think it was a piece of sh1t. It's also about as realistic as me boinking Julia Roberts.
 
House of God is terrible. It is almost torturous to read. I felt like I was listening to somebody bitch and moan directly in my left ear while I read the first half of that book. Pre-med people always praise this book on how accurate the portrayal of medicine is. Don't believe them, they're full of crap.

I recommend "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs" by some funny guy. It isn't about medicine. It is socially satirical, sort of.
 
love, medicine, and miracles, by bernie siegel
gifted hands, by ben carson
white coat, by ellen rothman
 
Nerd Alert!!!! I"m gonna go drink spiked egg nog and throw myself down some mountains...............................




just kidding... i love you sdners! :laugh: 👍 😍
 
For those of you into fiction (but yet still medical related):

Anything by
Patricia Cornwell
Tess Gerritsen
Kathy Reichs
Michael Palmer
Michael Connelly
Robin Cook
 
Just my favorite books to read:

The devils/the possed (depending on translation)
The Idiot
both by dostoyevsky

And the best quick read, little known book: 'Markings' by Dag Hammerskjold. If you read one book over break, pick up that one. It'll take you less than a day to read, but I stumbled on to it when I was like 8 or 9, and constantly reread it, and use it as a reference. It's especially good when you're worried about stuff like interviews and getting into medical school.

"pray that your loneliness leads you to find something to live for...great enough to die for"---dag hammerskjold

sorry, none of them are truly medically inclined (except maybe the Idiot, but that's only about a guy with epilepsy), and all have catholic/christian overtones.
 
DrThom said:
White Coat by Ellen Rothman Lerner is whiny but pretty good. Its about surviving Harvard Medical School.
Click to expand...

I second that, it's like "for christ's sake woman, you got accepted into HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL *slap* *slap* SHUT THE F*CK UP!"

lol, it was a pretty fun read though.
 
On Death and Dying, by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross.

Even twenty-five years later, it's still powerful and relevant.
 
I'm currently reading The Truth Behind America's Terrifying Epidemic of Medical Mistakes. (It is written by 2 doctors) Pretty interesting so far
 
A Not Entirely Benign Procedure by Perri Klass is a good one. So is Mama Might be better off Dead (can't rememebr the author at the moment).
 
"Bad Blood" by James H. Jones: about the Tuskeegee Syphilis Experiment in AL
"And the Band Played On" by Randy Shilts: about the politics of AIDS
"Magic Shots" by Allen Chase: about the history of vaccination
"Virus Hunting" by Robert Gallo: about the discovery of retroviruses
"The Precious Metals of Medicine" and "The Medical Garden", both by Geoffrey Marks and William Beatty: the first is about bioinorganic chemistry; the second is about natural products chemistry, and both are fascinating.
"The Double Helix" by James Watson

And if you're really ambititious and/or interested in public health,
"The Coming Plague" and "Betrayal of Trust", both by Laurie Garrett.

That ought to be enough to last until January. 😉
 
QofQuimica said:
"Bad Blood" by James H. Jones: about the Tuskeegee Syphilis Experiment in AL
"And the Band Played On" by Randy Shilts: about the politics of AIDS
"Magic Shots" by Allen Chase: about the history of vaccination
"Virus Hunting" by Robert Gallo: about the discovery of retroviruses
"The Precious Metals of Medicine" and "The Medical Garden", both by Geoffrey Marks and William Beatty: the first is about bioinorganic chemistry; the second is about natural products chemistry, and both are fascinating.
"The Double Helix" by James Watson

And if you're really ambititious and/or interested in public health,
"The Coming Plague" and "Betrayal of Trust", both by Laurie Garrett.

That ought to be enough to last until January. 😉
Click to expand...

The Coming Plague is great. It's amusing to see you have both And the Band Played On and Virus Hunting in your list; Shilts is decidedly judgemental about Gallo (imo, rightly so). Like I said in an earlier post, And the Band Played On is really crucial to understanding the AIDS epidemic in America, I think.

Anyway, I want to thank y'all for the recommendations. I went to the library today like a kid in a candy store, and I'm still up at 3:40 AM because I have read both Bloodstream and Gravity (Tess Gerritsen) since 5 this evening -- very exciting books! 😛 I started Walk on Water, which somebody recommended (either here or in a different forum that had a book thread), but I found it disappointing. I'll go back to it when I finish the others I got. Next up is Internal Bleeding, which ufblondi said she/he is reading right now. Hope it's good! Not starting it until tomorrow though 😉

Now I just have to go wash the dishes before I go to sleep, then tomorrow morning I'm off to the lab to analyze some data before we leave tomorrow to drive home to my parents (haven't seen them in half a year, so I'm really excited)

hope everybody has an awesome winter break and merry Christmas to all of those to whom it applies, happy New Year all
 
I recommend getting out and enjoying life over the break...but if you are socially inept, then I recommend reading "The Brothers Karazmov"
 
vicinihil said:
so break is here :laugh: the learning stops for a month....but there is BARNES AND NOBLE! 🙄

to all my friends out there that can read...what books would you suggest reading??? I'll try and start the list

Complications- Atul Gwande
On Doctoring- Reynolds
Emergency Doctor- Edward Ziegler
On Call: The Making of a Doctor from Internship to Residency- Emily R. Transue
Click to expand...

Why not take your time over the break to get AWAY from school-related topics? Why not diversify yourself and read something that isn't medically related. I know we all love medicine here but it gets kinda sick when all you do/read/talk about has to do with medicine and health. I'm not trying to be offensive, I'm a victim of this too, but I try to keep the addiction in check. 😉
 
I loved on call...it's just so well written and the experiences she relates are not necessarily ones you'll have, but it just makes you feel what she's feeling.
 
I think anyone in any medical field should read something by Paul Farmer. He's amazing. I read him for a class three years ago and saw him speak at Brown. Infections & Inequalities is a very eye-opening (and pretty easy) read. I've also heard that his biography, by Tracy Kidder, is really great, especially since he's very modest about his accomplishments in his own writing.
 
boardchic said:
I think anyone in any medical field should read something by Paul Farmer. He's amazing. I read him for a class three years ago and saw him speak at Brown. Infections & Inequalities is a very eye-opening (and pretty easy) read. I've also heard that his biography, by Tracy Kidder, is really great, especially since he's very modest about his accomplishments in his own writing.
Click to expand...

There were a few great interviews with him and with Tracy Kidder on NPR. Paul Farmer seems amazing. I didn't hear it all but my mother says he grew up sort of weirdly and then had a scholarship to Harvard and then went to Harvard medical school while living in Haiti, and commuted to Harvard for tests...is that true or is my mother just weird? 😛
 
tigress said:
There were a few great interviews with him and with Tracy Kidder on NPR. Paul Farmer seems amazing. I didn't hear it all but my mother says he grew up sort of weirdly and then had a scholarship to Harvard and then went to Harvard medical school while living in Haiti, and commuted to Harvard for tests...is that true or is my mother just weird? 😛
Click to expand...

I think that's basically true. As I understand it, he got both an MD and a PhD in anthropology from Harvard and, while he was in school, he founded a hospital in Haiti to treat infectious diseases (he's mainly involved with TB and HIV), and he commuted back and forth from Haiti to Cambridge while he was in school.
Here's a short bio:
http://www.pih.org/whoweare/bio_paul.html
 
Pathologies of Power
by Dr. Paul Farmer
 
I'm really curious, those of you who didn't like Complications, why not? I think it's an excellent, thoughtful and thought-provoking look at the realities of being human and being a doctor, and being a doctor in the modern world.
 
tigress said:
The Coming Plague is great. It's amusing to see you have both And the Band Played On and Virus Hunting in your list; Shilts is decidedly judgemental about Gallo (imo, rightly so). Like I said in an earlier post, And the Band Played On is really crucial to understanding the AIDS epidemic in America, I think.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's true. It is best to read both sides to have a balanced perspective. Maybe I should have added "Rosalind Franklin and DNA" by Anne Sayre to balance out James Watson.
 
The worst medical related book I've ever read has to be "The Intern Blues" by Marion. Absolute **** fest. Quick summation: 3 whinny, spoiled brats that bitch throughout all 500 pages of this "book"

If you guys dont like fiction, or dont read very much of it, I would really recommend you check out "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Marquez. AN EXCELLENT book. I was glued to it. My favorite read of the year.

One hundred years of solitude
 
I agree with the notion of not reading anything school related over the holidays. Enjoy them! If you are going to read something, I would recommend Catch-22, if you have not yet read it. It is simply amazing, and believe me when I say it will not let you down.
 
I enjoyed Kitchen Table Wisdom by Rachel Naomi Remen. I reread it when doing applications to remind myself why I was doing this. It puts a lot of things into perspective.
 
tigress said:
I'm really curious, those of you who didn't like Complications, why not? I think it's an excellent, thoughtful and thought-provoking look at the realities of being human and being a doctor, and being a doctor in the modern world.
Click to expand...

Y'know I really enjoyed parts 1 and 3 of Complications but was bored by much of the middle section. It just seemed like his style changed too much while he was talking about pain etc. Other than that it was a very good quick read.
 
rachmoninov3 sorry said:
Dostoyevsky was pretty anti-catholic... I thought that came out clearly in some of his works, especially when he starts ranting about Jesuits. Just a warning.

About "Complications" - I didn't dislike it, I just didn't feel it was that insightful or great. He's very focused on this one topic of physician error, so that's interesting, but at the same time limiting. I guess my expectations were just too high.
Click to expand...
 
I'm reading House of God right now and it is not at all what I expected. Its about this young doctor's first year or so as an intern and half of it is like reading a soft porn novel. Some of you might go for it, but I was definitely looking for a different kind of inspiration on becoming a doctor. 🙄
 
Anyone here enjoyed guns germs and steel? Do you guys agree with the argument that Jared Diamond makes and it's quite convincing. I';m just wondering on what's y'all's take on it. y'all's what an interesting word...

also, i just bought the book, letters to a young doctor, you should all look into it, its very deep and teaches you a lot about what a good doctor should be
 
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