What I Learned in Medical School: Personal Stories of Young Doctors

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, and 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.

Table of Contents:
Foreword, by Joycelyn Elders Acknowledgments Introduction PART ONE: LIFE AND FAMILY HISTORIES 1. Being Refugee Eddy V. Nguyen 2. Melanie's Story Melanie M. Watkins 3. Pavement Nick Rubashkin 4. Whispers from the Third Generation Paul M. Lantos 5. Borderlands Marcia Casas 6. Poison in My Coffee Heather Goff PART TWO: SHIFTING IDENTITIES 7. Necessary Accessories Nusheen Ameenuddin 8. Medical School Metamorphosis Tresa Muir McNeal 9. Why Am I in Medical School? Karen C. Kim 10. My Secret Life "Linda Palafox" 11. Five Points Off for Going to Medical School Rachel Umi Lee 12. Parasympathizing Kevin{ths}M. Takakuwa 13. Sometimes, All You Can Do Is Laugh Lainie Holman 14. A Prayer from a Closeted Christian Anita Ramsetty 15. Seeing with New Eyes: How Ayurveda Transformed My Life Akilesh Palanisamy PART THREE: CONFRONTED 16. Hoka Hey Robert "Lame Bull" McDonald 17. My Names David Marcus 18. A Case Presentation Tista Ghosh 19. Urology Blues Ugo A. Ezenkwele 20. Like Everyone Else Katherine M. Erdwinn 21. Daring to Be a Doctor Simone C. Eastman-Uwan 22. A Graduation Speech Thao Nguyen Afterword Further Reading Contributors

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.

Review :
"With so many physicians cynical about their profession, grumbling about how health maintenance organisations (HMOs) and residency regulations have ruined the party . . . this book can serve only to inspire. Whether for crotchety doctors, patients frightened by the anonymity of medicine, educators planning for the next generation of students, or lay people wondering just who will be sitting behind the next stethoscope that approaches them, What I Learned in Medical School provides a healthy dose of optimism."--Danielle Ofri, "The Lancet"