Recommended Readering to Get a Glimpse of What Med School is Like?

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gbvan

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Does anyone have some good recommended reading that will help me get an idea of what med school is like. Right now I'm in the market for something more anecdotal, but other suggestions are welcome too. I've seen a lot of recs for "House of God" in particular, so that's already on my list.
 
I recommend Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs, by Michael Collins. His book about residency, Hot Lights, Cold Steel, is also excellent. Dr. Collins was a construction worker who became a nontrad medical student and then an orthopedic surgeon, so his books are quite relevant to us nontrads.

White Coat: Becoming a Doctor at Harvard Medical School, by Ellen Rothman, wasn't bad.
 
House of God is a great book but it will not give you an idea of med school. Still, a great book.
 
Are you sure man. The intern to doc phase seems like much more interesting read.

To save my life. I can't think of a narrative i would read about med students. unless it was the happenstance of a hard-boiled crime story. Or international intrigue--with a man vs government theme.

But just a day in the life of a.....

Would take a f'n genius to make this interesting. And one I would never discover. Like. I'm sure there's interesting stuff being written about the intrigues of pin-headed European royals. But I would never know.
 
Chip N Sawbones said:
White Coat: Becoming a Doctor at Harvard Medical School, by Ellen Rothman, wasn't bad.
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Agreed.

Also;
Med School Confidential
On Call - Emily Transue
Intern: A Doctor's Initiation - Sandeep Jauhar
 
Body of Work is about reflections from the anatomy lab.
She's way overly dramatic and not very insightful,but that might give you a glimpse into the feelings at the beginning of med school.
 
Nasrudin said:
Are you sure man. The intern to doc phase seems like much more interesting read.

To save my life. I can't think of a narrative i would read about med students. unless it was the happenstance of a hard-boiled crime story. Or international intrigue--with a man vs government theme.

But just a day in the life of a.....

Would take a f'n genius to make this interesting. And one I would never discover. Like. I'm sure there's interesting stuff being written about the intrigues of pin-headed European royals. But I would never know.
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Lots of extracurricular sexytime. Even the House of God gets pretty explicitly sexy sexy at times.
 
plauto said:
House of God is a great book but it will not give you an idea of med school. Still, a great book.
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Agree with the "not give you an idea of med school" part.

"This Won't Hurt a Bit" by Michelle Au is worth looking at if you want something that's more novel-ish.

I'll also second "Med School Confidential" as more of a handbook-type read.
 
eHombre said:
Lots of extracurricular sexytime. Even the House of God gets pretty explicitly sexy sexy at times.
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Debauchery. Good point. Written as a serious book for premeds. About and Ivy. Gone totally nuts. But concrete and convincing.

That could be worth something.
 
eHombre said:
Lots of extracurricular sexytime. Even the House of God gets pretty explicitly sexy sexy at times.
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"Even????" I'd say the explicit orgy scene would have limited it to porno shops if it weren't that it's first 100 pages were otherwise worth reading. The last half of the book was a waste of typewriter ribbon.
 
What is medical school like?

You basically sleep, study, go to class and recuperate.
 
If you really want to find out what med school and then residency are like, I suggest you make an appointment to spend a day at a med school.

For residency, get involved with an internship for pre-meds where you can shadow the residents.

No book is going to give you a good idea of what either of those two are like.

I shadowed residents this past summer and it was noting like House of God.

Don't substitute for the real thing.
 
simondimond said:
If you really want to find out what med school and then residency are like, I suggest you make an appointment to spend a day at a med school.

For residency, get involved with an internship for pre-meds where you can shadow the residents.

No book is going to give you a good idea of what either of those two are like.
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I really think this is the opposite of the truth. When you shadow, you can't see what's going on in someone's head unless that person takes the time to tell you. You will lack the background to understand most of what is going on and why. Most people who shadow do it for a few hours at a time, when well-rested, and basically just "ooh and ahh" at procedures. Books can really take you inside someone else's life. Brief, superficial observation usually can't.
 
pseudoknot said:
I really think this is the opposite of the truth. When you shadow, you can't see what's going on in someone's head unless that person takes the time to tell you. You will lack the background to understand most of what is going on and why. Most people who shadow do it for a few hours at a time, when well-rested, and basically just "ooh and ahh" at procedures. Books can really take you inside someone else's life. Brief, superficial observation usually can't.
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Thank you for weighing in on this as a physician. I was going to say something close to this, and I'm glad this is your perspective. I can't imagine getting much more than a patient's view from shadowing a doctor -- much of the world is still behind a curtain to you.

I can only imagine what my job would look like to someone who has no idea about electrical engineering or computers -- I imagine it would make very little sense.
 
pseudoknot said:
I really think this is the opposite of the truth. When you shadow, you can't see what's going on in someone's head unless that person takes the time to tell you. You will lack the background to understand most of what is going on and why. Most people who shadow do it for a few hours at a time, when well-rested, and basically just "ooh and ahh" at procedures. Books can really take you inside someone else's life. Brief, superficial observation usually can't.
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You must have misunderstood my post. I didn't say anything about brief and I agree that brief encounters have no value A real pre-med internship will have you spending the whole day with the residents for at least 4-5 weeks. I should know because I did it. Unless the resident is robotic, I'm sure they will tell you a little bit about their life somewhere during that time.

As far as reading books, there is nothing wrong with them but reading about surgery and being in the operating room are two very different things. There is something about the smell of burnt flesh that you can't understand simply by reading about it.
 
Reading a book does not prepare you for med school. Imagine your senior year in undergrad with four upper-division classes. Now triple the workload and you have med school. It is rather boring and very very unamenable to book-writing. How do you write a book about 20 hours per week of lecture/podcasting and 20 hours of studying?

As for what MEDICINE should be like, I recommend the books by Richard Selzer (Letters to a Young Doctor, Exact Location of the Soul) and Atul Gawande.

As for what RESIDENCY should be like... the books I read have already been recommended. Note that a lot of these were written in the 1970s or 1980s and might not reflect the actual difficulty or easiness or certain residencies now 🙄
 
pseudoknot said:
...I'd also add the classic Becoming a Doctor. I got a far better picture of what med school and residency would be like by reading these than by shadowing.
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I second the recommendation for Becoming a Doctor by MK. I read it during my third year and it was spot on.😀
 
Morsetlis said:
Reading a book does not prepare you for med school. Imagine your senior year in undergrad with four upper-division classes. Now triple the workload and you have med school. It is rather boring and very very unamenable to book-writing. How do you write a book about 20 hours per week of lecture/podcasting and 20 hours of studying?
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Exactly. Medicine is studying for the first 2 years.

Edit: and the next 30 also!
 
Morsetlis said:
How do you write a book about 20 hours per week of lecture/podcasting and 20 hours of studying?:
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I think a lot of med students spend a lot more than 40 hours per week on coursework, but I agree with the sentiment. Atul Gawande's Complications is a good book, Shem's House of God is a classic which will give you a flavor of the loss of idealism you might experience. Otherwise you are better off just reading whatever non medical books are on the best seller lists, because you won't have as much time to pleasure read once this train starts.
 
plauto said:
Body of Work is about reflections from the anatomy lab.
She's way overly dramatic and not very insightful,but that might give you a glimpse into the feelings at the beginning of med school.
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that book was horrible
 
Dante's Inferno. At least it feels a little like that at times. Hopefully, things will seem brighter Monday when the Anatomy block is finally over.
 
Legally Insane said:
Dante's Inferno. At least it feels a little like that at times. Hopefully, things will seem brighter Monday when the Anatomy block is finally over.
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Nice. I think you just helped me arrive at my personal rec's.

Hunter S. Thompson. And Anthony Bourdain.

Because. If you're going to be spending most of your time in a anal retentive quest. With Puritan pilgrims. And all the king's men.

Stock up on wildness. Of the sort that embraces a deeper sense of mystery. Before this epic crusade begins.
 
I'd say it's more like "The Pilgrim's Progress." There are many hardships and ways to stray on the journey to the Celestial City, but it's directed toward achieving a worthy goal. And hopefully you won't do anything during medical training that would relegate you to the ninth circle of hell. :d
 
QofQuimica said:
I'd say it's more like "The Pilgrim's Progress." There are many hardships and ways to stray on the journey to the Celestial City, but it's directed toward achieving a worthy goal. And hopefully you won't do anything during medical training that would relegate you to the ninth circle of hell. :d
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👍
 
If you're looking into osteopathic medicine, check out Norman Gevitz's "The DO's: Osteopathic Medicine in America." It's a good primer if you're not aware of the history and philisophical differences between MD's and DO's.

Other books I've read recently were "Paradise General" by Dave Hnida (A short read about life as an Army medical officer) and "Empire Statesman" by Robert Caro (a longer book about NY Governor and failed presidential candidate Al Smith).

In short, just read. You'll have plenty to talk about.
 
Morsetlis said:
As for what RESIDENCY should be like... the books I read have already been recommended. Note that a lot of these were written in the 1970s or 1980s and might not reflect the actual difficulty or easiness or certain residencies now 🙄
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This is a good point. Training has changed a ton since then, and it continues to change on a regular basis. For example, intern year is different for me now than it was even for last year's interns because of the new work hour rules. gbvan, if you really want to know what 21st century medical school is like, I suggest reading blogs by medical students, because those will give you a much better idea about what current medical school life is like. Plus, blogs have the added advantage that you can write to the author and ask questions, make comments, etc. You can't have that interaction with the author of a book from forty years ago.

Also, I know it's far off for a lot of you, but I'm happy to answer questions about EM residency if anyone has any.
 
I read: http://www.pandabearmd.com/

And agree w/ above reminders that the 1st 2 years are studying. Sitting on your butt with books for hours daily. Standing in a stinky lab for hours till you can remember and locate all the extensor muscles of the arm on every cadaver in the lab, no matter how distorted. Trying not to have a panic attack as you prepare to be locked into a computer lab for hours to take an exam which, if you fail, may destroy your career.

The clinical years (3rd and 4th year) are a little different for everyone. If you want to do well, I suggest you read a lot about improving interpersonal relationships in the workplace, as well as How We Decide, and other texts about decision analysis. Freakonomics is good too. The most important skill a med student can have, besides being able to sit still and study for hours, is to know how to not piss anybody off without being a wallflower.
 
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