A Not Entirely Benign Procedure: Four Years As a Medical Student

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating book
Review: A fascinating well-written book, which will be of interest to anyone who has experience of hospitals and medicine, whether as professional or patient.

Rating:
Summary: This book was easy and fun to read as well as educational.
Review: As a student entering medical school in August, I found this book to be informative while maintaining the feel of a novel. The author does a wonderful job at describing some of the hardships a medical student faces including course overload, moral dilemmas, and the maintenance of personal relationships. For those not in the medical profession, I think this book gives the reader an accurate insight into how doctors become doctors.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating book
Review: I am a biology major/ pre-med student at UCLA, though it is through my English class that I found this book. Simply put, this novel made me think. I continuously wondered, "can i handle 'dog dissection'... will I be able to memorize all of the countless facts about all these rare diseases?" An entire section of the book is devoted to bioethical issues, including one essay entitled, "DNR," (do not resuscitate). I began questioning myself, "is it fair to bring someone back just so that they can suffer longer with the same disease?" If you plan on going to medical school, reading this book is a must, and a joy; it is perfect for pre-meds.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect for Pre-Meds
Review: I am a biology major/ pre-med student at UCLA, though it is through my English class that I found this book. Simply put, this novel made me think. I continuously wondered, "can i handle 'dog dissection'... will I be able to memorize all of the countless facts about all these rare diseases?" An entire section of the book is devoted to bioethical issues, including one essay entitled, "DNR," (do not resuscitate). I began questioning myself, "is it fair to bring someone back just so that they can suffer longer with the same disease?" If you plan on going to medical school, reading this book is a must, and a joy; it is perfect for pre-meds.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect for Pre-Meds
Review: I am a biology major/ pre-med student at UCLA, though it is through my English class that I found this book. Simply put, this novel made me think. I continuously wondered, "can i handle 'dog dissection'... will I be able to memorize all of the countless facts about all these rare diseases?" An entire section of the book is devoted to bioethical issues, including one essay entitled, "DNR," (do not resuscitate). I began questioning myself, "is it fair to bring someone back just so that they can suffer longer with the same disease?" If you plan on going to medical school, reading this book is a must, and a joy; it is perfect for pre-meds.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Book
Review: I am a pre-med Junior in college and I enjoyed this book. It gives you a look into medical school, although it is through her sometimes negative or critical point of view. Interesting and easy to read.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Book
Review: I am a pre-med Junior in college and I enjoyed this book. It gives you a look into medical school, although it is through her sometimes negative or critical point of view. Interesting and easy to read.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I bought this book because author Perri Klass has somehow acquired a stellar reputation as a medical author. The operative word in the preceding sentence is "somehow," as I'm sure you noticed. This namby-pamby book is a reasonably accurate but dull rendition of what it is like to be a medical student, but the book is more about Klass' circuitous introspections and exhausting analyses than it is a book of interesting stories. In fact, I was so disappointed by this book that I re-read Klass' submission in "Emergency Room-Lives Saved and Lost: Doctors Tell Their Stories" to see if her book may have been an aberration of her youth, similar to Crichton's "Five Patients." Bottom line: The scorecard? Klass is now 0 for 2.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I bought this book because author Perri Klass has somehow acquired a stellar reputation as a medical author. The operative word in the preceding sentence is "somehow," as I'm sure you noticed. This namby-pamby book is a reasonably accurate but dull rendition of what it is like to be a medical student, but the book is more about Klass' circuitous introspections and exhausting analyses than it is a book of interesting stories. In fact, I was so disappointed by this book that I re-read Klass' submission in "Emergency Room-Lives Saved and Lost: Doctors Tell Their Stories" to see if her book may have been an aberration of her youth, similar to Crichton's "Five Patients." Bottom line: The scorecard? Klass is now 0 for 2.

Rating:
Summary: A great book - interesting and informative
Review: I want to be a pediatrician, so I read this book to have a better understanding of what it takes to go through Medical School. This book gave me a very good idea of what Medical students are put through. The stories are funny, interesting and truthful. I recommend it to anyone who's thinking about a future in medicine.