MEDICAL BOOKS

MEDICAL BOOKS

If you’re looking for some medical (non-textbook) books to read in your limited amount of spare time, check out some of my favorites below:

The House of God by Samuel Shem

A classic pre-medical school book. It details residency life in the 1970s. You can talk about this book with almost any medical student or attending. It is practically a medical school requirement. 

Intern: A Doctor’s Initiation by Sandeep Jauhar

A more modern look into medicine residency intern year from the perspective of Cardiologist Dr. Sandeep Jauhar. Comes with the highs and lows you can expect. After having been through 6 months of residency, I would say it is very accurate.

Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story by Ben Carson. Just because I find Ben Carson incompetent as a politician does not mean I do not respect him as a doctor. He is a phenomenal pediatric neurosurgeon and this book details his story.

On Doctoring: Stories, Poems, Essays by Richard Reynolds

A book of stories and poems from doctors throughout time and also from famous poets and authors depicting their views of medicine.

Private Practice: In the Early Twentieth-Century Medical Office of Dr. Richard Cabot by Christopher Crenner

An interesting look into a Boston medicine clinic from the early 1900′s. With excerpts from old patient notes which I found very interesting. 

And if you have an interest is something more dark:

Blind Eye by James B. Stewart

The real story of a doctor murderer from the 1990′s who killed multiple patients without getting caught for several years.

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson 

The story of the World’s Fair in Chicago in the late 1800′s. A great look into the history of Chicago and the murderous doctor who roamed its streets.

And lastly:

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Just a great book in general. My favorite.

Suggested by other users:

The Making of a Woman Surgeon by Dr. Elizabeth Morgan

Suggested by http://thetay-in-the-757.tumblr.com

This book is my all time favorite, as I am a female aspiring to work in the healthcare system myself. Dr. Morgan chronicles her own journey in the male-dominated arena of medicine in the 1970s and 1980s, as she struggles to maintain an appropriate balance between remaining empathetic towards her patients and yet must toe the line of not becoming too emotionally involved with her patients so that she burns out, as well as maintaining her own femininity in a man’s world.

When Breath Become Air by Dr. Paul Kalanithi

Suggested by http://nandemokandemo.tumblr.com

When Breath Becomes Air is an autobiography written by an esteemed neurosurgeon who discovers he has Stage IV lung cancer in his final stages of residency. It appeals to not only medical students, with his profound impressions of cadaver dissection and his first life and deaths, but also to current medical professionals by questioning philosophical domains of mortality and what a meaningful life is, as well as to non-medical professionals with moving thoughts on family, life, death and meaning. It is not a novel to be missed by any person.

We should be more pro-active or we’ll see more of such sad fates of honest people.

JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED 

In Which Dr. Baffled Tortures His Residents

I was rounding in the nursery with 2 interns today.  There are 7 babies in the nursery.  One of them had a large, hyper-pigmented nevus on his right calf.  All of the other babies have completely normal exams.  When I asked them if any of the babies had any findings on exam they said no.  I told them that one baby had a clear abnormality on the exam and they should go back in and re-examine all the babies and find it.  They examined babies and reported non-existent findings for an hour with no progress.  I then told them which baby had the findings and they then stared at that baby for 20 minutes before they found it.  The whole incident was painful to watch.

Whats the moral or the story?  A physician’s history and physical exam skills are among the most important aspects of medicine.  Without them, you’re just wandering around the diaspora throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something sticks.

How I Use Asana to Organize My Life as a Student

Organization.

Ew.

I feel like the words organization, productivity and time management can seem like taboo words to a student. Hearing those words always makes me squirm.

It’s really difficult to get organized and to stay organized. I have tried many different apps, systems and planners to try and get myself organized, but every time I try a new system, it never works out.

When I found Asana, I was so happy that I had finally found a method that clicked. This app helps me organize my tasks for each subject, with helpful tools to that allow me to plan out my weeks and month effectively.

And as someone who values the aesthetic and appearance of an app more than anything, I’m pleased to report that the minimalist and colorful design of this program makes the designer inside me very, very happy.

But you may not have ever heard of Asana before. Which is totally cool. Because in this post, we’ll be covering 

how to set up your very own Asana account and profile, 

how to manage your tasks and assignments inside the app, and 

how to effectively use all of Asana’s amazing tools to further your productivity.

Read the entire post here!

Effort won’t betray you

my korean friend when I asked her how she motivates herself for lessons that last until 11 pm each day -studybdy (via misehry)