Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

Book recommendations for A-Level students.

Hey guys,

I'm in Year 12 and am looking for books to read related to Medicine. Does anyone have any good book recommendations that aren't commonly read by med school applicants? Would appreciate it!

Thanks

Reply 1

StationToStation

What kind of books? Popular science or reflections on being a doctor? Any particular field of medicine that interests you?

Reply 2

username2315623

Original post by StationToStation

What kind of books? Popular science or reflections on being a doctor? Any particular field of medicine that interests you?

Hey! Umm, stuff on being a junior doctor, cancer, and the thought processes behind diagnosis

Reply 3

StationToStation

Original post by dp00

Hey! Umm, stuff on being a junior doctor, cancer, and the thought processes behind diagnosis

Ohhh ok, not something I've read a huge amount on then.

Trust Me, I'm a (Junior) Doctor by Max Pemberton is a slightly outdated and apparently not a hyper-realistic account of what it's like to be a junior doctor in the NHS. It's an amusing and easy read though.

I've heard that the The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee is quite good so you might want to look into that. I haven't read it, but I've read The Gene: An Intimate History by the same author. Personally I would've liked it if he would've focused a bit more on the actual science instead of using lots of in-my-opinion-not-that-good allegories, but he writes well and I think he painted a really engaging and inspiring picture of how various scientists helped us arrive at the level of knowledge we have about genetics today.

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi is a book written by a neurosurgeon who was dying of cancer. It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever read.

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahnman is not directly related to medicine but it's a super interesting read if, relating to the thought processes you mentioned, you want to know more about e.g. what cognitive biases doctors might face when diagnosing patients and making decisions about treatment. The experiments he describes are really fascinating. I remember reading somewhere that some of the experiments weren't actually that well designed so I'm not sure how reliable the results and hence Kahnman's conclusions are though.

Reply 4

username2315623

Thanks so much! You've been really helpful! If you don't mind me asking, are you a junior doctor?

Reply 5

username2315623

Original post by dp00

Thanks so much! You've been really helpful! If you don't mind me asking, are you a junior doctor?

Do you know any really good ones on Junior Doctor's because I thought about 'Trust me I'm a doctor' but if you are saying it's not that representative, are there any others you'd recommend?

Reply 6

returnmigrant

If this is so you can list them in your PS, its a bit of a waste of time/space. You haven't got space for this and you wont be able to say anything new about them that the admissions team haven't read a thousand times before.

If its more 'getting an idea of what to expect about the job' or 'what sort of stuff will I have to do as a Med student' then a good beginners guide is 'Medicine at a Glance' by Patrick Davey (Amazon or cheaper 2nd hand copies on Ebay).

Reply 7

StationToStation

Original post by dp00

Thanks so much! You've been really helpful! If you don't mind me asking, are you a junior doctor?

Lol no, I'll start first year of med school in September.

I haven't read much on being a junior doctor in the NHS. The books I've read about being a doctor are written by more senior doctors and they mostly focus on reflecting on the role of a doctor and not the day-to-day realities of being one. The sentence about the representativeness of Pemberton's book was based on something I remember reading here on TSR said by somebody who's a doctor already. (Plus the fact that it becomes quite obvious that it's not a perfect representation when you're reading the book.) Hopefully one of these more senior users will stumble into this thread and recommend some books that give a more realistic account of working as a junior doc - I'd also be interested!

You can find on Youtube a new series called Confessions of a Junior Doctor. Apparently that's pretty realistic.

Reply 8

Angury

Original post by dp00

Hey! Umm, stuff on being a junior doctor, cancer, and the thought processes behind diagnosis

Confessions of a GP by Benjamin Daniels is a humorous (and I think accurate) look at the job of a GP in the UK. It's short and easy to read.

A Fortunate Man: The Story of a Country Doctor is one of my all-time favourite books. It is written by an English novelist (John Berger) who follows a GP in rural England. The book is interspersed with photos, and offers a beautiful insight into the patients lives, how they see the GP as more than just a doctor, and the boundary between work and life. There was a good piece about the work in The Guardian two years ago:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/07/john-sassall-country-doctor-a-fortunate-man-john-berger-jean-mohr

I particularly love this quote:

"The two writers recognised in Sassall an outstanding physician as well as an enthusiast for an unfashionable ideal – the Renaissance dream of aspiring to universal knowledge and experience. As a doctor who sought daily to empathise with people of very different backgrounds and perspectives, Sassall, they perceived, came closer to attaining this ideal than most men or women ever could."

It's a book I am currently rereading before starting my first job in August. It has given me a lot of motivation and a different perspective on why I went into medicine. I wish more people knew about this book.

As for Cancer specifically, C: Because Cowards get Cancer too by John Diamond is supposed to be a good read - it has received some good reviews.

Regarding diagnosis, Diagnosis: Dispatches from the Frontlines of Medical Mysteries by Lisa Sanders covers the supposed thought process that underpins diagnostic reasoning. I haven't read this book myself (yet) but it has been on my radar for a long, long time and have heard good things about it.

Finally, although it is a very popular book for medical applicants, I believe The Rise and Fall of Modern Medicine by James Le Fanu is a fantastic book to read if you are interested in the history of medicine and healthcare. It offers an insight into the major breakthroughs in the past century and how these have had an impact on modern healthcare. It also makes you think about the impact of scientific discoveries on the way we live today, and how we view our bodies as a result.

For a more general overview on life of a junior doctor, I think blogs are the best things to follow. I've come across some very interesting insights on numerous blogs. There are some great writers out there on the internet. Here is just one example:

Spoiler

That should be more than enough. :smile: