“Medicine, the only profession that labors incessantly to destroy the reason for its own existence.”
People often ask us what life is like as a resident. Are the hours as long as they claim?
Most resident spouses do not know what it is like to be a resident unless we have gone through it ourselves. However, we do know that it often means a lot of hours by yourself or alone with the kids. Below are a few book suggestions about residency and medicine to fill those long hours alone:
House of God by Samual Shem – This classic book on residency in the 1970s can also be pretty scary from a resident spouse perspective, but it provides a lot of insight into the lingo and issues that residents experience.
On Call in Hell: A Doctor's Iraq War Story by Cdr. Richard Jadick and Thomas Hayden – A story about a career Marine officer and brigade surgeon who volunteered to serve as a doctor in Iraq in 2004.
In Stitches by Anthony Youn M.D. – A doctor’s path from high school outsider to star surgeon.
Another Day in the Frontal Lobe by Katrina Firlik – A female doctor’s account of practicing in the male-dominated field of neurosurgery.
Intern: A Doctor's Initiation by Sandeep Jauhar – An account of a doctor’s time in residency at a New York City hospital.
On Call: A Doctor's Days and Nights in Residency by Emily R. Transue M.D. – The doctor’s accounts of her internal medicine residency adapted from her journal, which she used as a tool to share her stories with friends and protect herself from burnout.
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese – Not really about residency, but a great work of literature about twin brothers starting at a hospital in Ethiopia and ending in a hospital in New York City.
The many works of Atul Gawande
Email us if you have a suggestion to add to the list!
Note: Cincinnati RSA suggests the above links as helpful resources but has no affiliation with/does not endorse their material.