Recommended Reading

One of the most useful things that I did/am doing as part of my journey to try to get into medical school, is doing a lot of reading. Medicine fascinates me - even at a lay level, even if I never get into med school and become a doctor, medicine and being a doctor is just interesting to read about. Its just one of those things, thats why there are so many shows about doctors out there - and they aren't just watched by people who are or want to be doctors.

So here is a list of some of my favorite books that I've read.

"So, You Want to Be a Doctor, Eh? a Guidebook to Canadian Medical School" by Dr. Anne Berndl

This book is a gem for anyone who is considering becoming a doctor in Canada. It basically outlines the journey, from high school to applying, from choosing a specialty to all the required board exams - every step required to become a doctor. It also gives the reader a good idea of what its like to be a doctor - both the good and the bad.

Its a little dated though, being published in 2007 and there are some things in there that are no longer applicable - for example, in the book the author states that the MCAT is only available twice a year, which was the case before it became a computer based exam. Also, it has a summary of the requirements of the various medical schools, many of which have also changed since then. 

But overall, this is the book I would recommend that EVERY med school hopeful read.

"Secrets from the Eating Lab" by Dr. Traci Mann

I'd been wanting to read this book for ages and was so happy when I finally did! Dr. Mann is a psychologist that specializes in the psychology of food and eating and her book is filled with revelations about food and dieting (spoiler: diets don't and can't work for the vast majority of people). As a hopefully family doctor, this is something that I think will be an excellent resource for me to help guide patients who have obesity and want to lose weight in a way that will set them up for success and not failure (and regain that will eventually happen when following a restrictive diet). This book is incredibly well written and easy to read - it took me less than two days to complete it!

"Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

The Pulitzer Prize this book received really speaks for itself. If you are interested in history and interested in cancer, this book is amazing. History was my single favorite course in high school and university, so I just gobbled this up. Even without much knowledge of medicine or cancer, this book is easy to understand. If you do have any knowledge of cancer, you will just get that much more out of this book.The history of cancer and how it's treatment over the years has evolved is fascinating. Granted, I haven't had much personal experience with it so it didn't hit a nerve the way I'm sure it would for those who have, but I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone.

"The Gene - An Intimate History" by Siddartha Mukherjee

I've always been interested in genetics (even tried to take a course on genetics back when I did my business degree but alas, the course was given to science students as a priority and I never got off the waitlist). Anyway, when I stumbled up "The Gene" by Mukherjee, I just had to get it. I love his first book so much, that I couldn't wait to read this one. I was not disappointed! However, I do have to say that while he definitely tries to make it as understandable as possible, I think having some basic knowledge of genetics molecular biology would be a good thing to get the most out of this book. I'm glad that I discovered it when I did! It took me a bit of time to read (over 4 months) because some parts were so detailed, I felt the need to reread them multiple times to make sure I could really visualize it. But it was overall, just as good as Emperor of All Maladies. Mukherjee is just an amazing writer, in addition to being a freakishly accomplished physician and researcher. Definitely recommend to those interested in genetics or any med student, really (this book actually helped me understand a lot of what I was learning at school better).

"The Night Shift" by Dr. Brian Goldman

This is a great and easy read - I read it in like two days! Dr. Goldman, the author, has a great radio show of CBC called "White Coat, Black Art" (also available on podcast via the iTunes store) that discusses various topics in medicine, such as ethics, the direction medicine is heading and even specific areas of medicine. This book is written in much a similar fashion as his show.

It focuses on Dr. Goldman's career as an ER doctor in a downtown Toronto hospital. Its accounts of real experiences he has had as an ER doctor, beginning from his early training to more current events and he throws in a lot of the ethical dilemma's he has faced.

"The Secret Language of Doctors" by Dr. Brian Goldman

This book was very interesting as a lay person and someone who is interested in a career as a doctor. It was very enlightening, but entertaining and easy to read as well. Dr. Goldman discusses several phrases and acronyms used by medical professionals, often in front of the patients they are treating, to communicate or convey messages to each other without the patient knowing what they are talking about. Some of it is shameful, some necessary, some funny and some all three. Dr. Goldman said that the first time the secret of this "language" was ever really discussed was in the book "House of God" by Samuel Shem (also great, and which I discuss next).

"The House of God" by Samuel Shem

Sameul Shem is a pen name for Dr. Stephen Bergman, who wrote the book using that pseudonym because he was genuinely scared about the reaction the book would have when it was published in 1978. It is a work of fiction and follows a group of interns around a NYC hospital over the course of their first year of residency. It was scandalous because it was the first book that showed the ugly and unvarnished side to medical training - from affairs between the staff, to hospital politics but mostly about the poor working conditions that training doctors faced (and still face in many cases) and how patients are treated and talked about by doctors and the consequences of all of those. I think this book is a must read for anyone considering medicine - because honestly it would put many people off.

"Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese

This is novel about twin brothers born out of a secret tryst between a brilliant British surgeon and his Indian nun medical assistant at a Catholic hospital in Ethiopia. The brothers both grow up to be surgeons like their father and exceptionally close but suffer through some tragedies that tear them apart. Set between New York City and Addis Ababa and between a modern American hospital and a much more primitive African one, the story is captivating. I loved this book because of the medical side but the story itself was fascinating and couldn't put it down. I would recommend this to anyone.