From Publishers Weekly
Poignant and revealing, this eclectic collection of short personal essays serves two complementary purposes. On one level, it recounts the challenges and joys medical students experience as they go through their training. On another, it critiques what these students must endure to become doctors-a grueling educational process that entails constant stress and exceedingly long work hours. Pulled together by Takakuwa (a physician at the Univ. of Pennsylvania), Rubashkin (a medical student at Stanford) and Herzig (a researcher at the Univ. of California, San Francisco) the 22 essays reflect the profession's increased cultural and socioeconomic diversity. For example, Eddy V. Nguyen, an ophthalmology resident at the UCLA Medical Center, describes how becoming a doctor helped him embrace his experiences as a Vietnamese refugee and gave him the chance to improve the conditions of Asian immigrants living in a nearby, under-served community. Melanie M. Watkins, an OB-GYN resident at UCSF who became a single mother at 16, talks honestly about how hospitals often neglect young mothers on Medicaid and explains that what keeps her nose in her books until 2 a.m. is "not the prestige and recognition that goes with being a doctor, but the promise of a better life for myself and my son and the potential to make a real difference in the lives of my patients." The editors conclude the anthology with a sharp analysis of the medical education system as it currently stands, citing ways in which the competitive-and at times isolating-environment should be improved. As former surgeon general Elders explains in her foreword, "this book is by no means the definitive word on the direction medicine is taking; but it is a starting point for getting to know the new faces in medicine, a starting point for discussion, and...for action." Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
The 22 young doctors who tell their stories in this book didn't conform to the classic prototype of the medical student and doctor: they weren't white, upper middle class, and male. In the foreword to their med-school horror stories--thoughtful, but horrifying--former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders recalls the barriers she faced as an African American woman who wanted to be a doctor in the 1950s, and although it is becoming increasingly commonplace to see female, Asian, and African American doctors, these memoirs reveal that nontraditional M.D. candidates still face often unthinkable obstacles. On the other hand, for some contributors, the choice of career seems almost antithetical. For instance, how many would expect, to cite examples from this book, a doctor with a learning disability, an obese doctor, or a Western-trained doctor who believes in the principles of Ayurveda? Still, they all persevered despite the odds and minds stacked against their success, and they believe they will be better doctors for it. Therein lies the value of this worthwhile read: perseverance pays off. Donna Chavez
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Book Description
Like many an exclusive club, the medical profession subjects its prospective members to rigorous indoctrination: medical students are overloaded with work, deprived of sleep and normal human contact, drilled and tested and scheduled down to the last minute. Difficult as the regimen may be, for those who don't fit the traditional mold--white, male, middle-to-upper class, and heterosexual--medical school can be that much more harrowing. This riveting book tells the tales of a new generation of medical students--students whose varied backgrounds are far from traditional. Their stories will forever alter the way we see tomorrow's doctors.
In these pages, a black teenage mother overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds, an observant Muslim dons the hijab during training, an alcoholic hides her addiction. We hear the stories of an Asian refugee, a Mexican immigrant, a closeted Christian, an oversized woman--these once unlikely students are among those who describe their medical school experiences with uncommon candor, giving a close-up look at the inflexible curriculum, the pervasive competitive culture, and the daunting obstacles that come with being "different" in medical school. Their tales of courage are by turns poignant, amusing, eye-opening--and altogether unforgettable.
About the Author
Kevin M. Takakuwa is resident physician at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of the medical school at the University of California, Davis. Nick Rubashkin is a medical student at Stanford University. Karen E. Herzig earned a Ph.D. in health psychology from the University of California, San Francisco, where she currently works as a researcher.
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