Wanting to provide an insider's view of the rewards and difficulties of a medical career, Dr. Leonard Laster (physician, researcher, teacher, and columnist) interviewed 32 physicians to learn how their careers developed. We encounter a cornucopia of commonalities that have directed their professional lives. One became a physician to homeless people, another the CEO of a major pharmaceutical corporation, another a family physician after overcoming the barriers of racial prejudice, another the Surgeon General, another a state governor, and yet another the editor of one of the world's most prestigious medical journals. Life After Medical School contains reflections by training program directors on which person fits which path. Dr. Laster wisely pays much attention to whether it is more rewarding to be a generalist or a specialist. The storytellers conjure truthful portraits of their personal and professional lives as generalists. This personal career guide is of special appeal to parents and mentors of young people considering a career in medicine, to premedical and medical students, to residents-in-training, and to midcareer physicians. The book is also a treat to general readers in search of a frank and sensitive account of the nature of professionalism in medicine and what it means to be a doctor in today's swiftly changing world.

A group of vivid, first-person stories of medical students who don't "fit the mold" and have had challenges completing conventional medical training.

Take control of your patient satisfaction with the Physician’s Guide to Surviving CGCAHPS & HCAHPS by Trina E. Dorrah, MD, MPH. As patients demand more from their healthcare providers, publicly reported, standardized patient satisfaction surveys are now the norm. Despite the importance of these surveys, medical education often does not teach healthcare providers how to improve patient satisfaction and succeed with CGCAHPS and HCAHPS. That is, until now. With Dr. Dorrah’s step-by-step instructional guide, healthcare providers will learn the fundamentals of patient satisfaction, including CGCAHPS and HCAHPS survey basics, and overall tips for succeeding on patient satisfaction surveys. Doctors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and students alike will quickly learn how to improve their patients’ satisfaction with Dr. Dorrah’s essential Physician’s Guide to Surviving CGCAHPS & HCAHPS.

This insightful and candid guide unveils the truth about medical school, residency, and the fascinating realities that await aspiring physicians beyond the classroom. On Becoming a Doctor provides an essential roadmap for your medical odyssey including: Comprehensive Guidance: Delve into the intricacies of medical school life and residency, as well as the challenges and rewards of being a doctor. Gain invaluable insights into the various medical specialties, allowing you to make informed decisions about your future career path. First-Hand Accounts: Written by seasoned medical professionals, this book provides authentic first-hand accounts of the rigors and triumphs experienced throughout medical training. Learn from their experiences and use their wisdom to navigate your own journey with confidence. Balancing Life and Work: Discover the secrets to maintaining a healthy work-life balance in the demanding world of medicine. On Becoming a Doctor offers practical tips on managing stress, fostering personal well-being, and nurturing a fulfilling personal life alongside a thriving medical career. Residency Success Strategies: Unravel the complexities of the residency application process and equip yourself with indispensable strategies to stand out in this highly competitive arena. Our expert advice will empower you to excel during your residency and launch a successful medical career. Patient Stories: Be inspired by heartwarming and insightful patient stories that illustrate the transformative power of compassionate healthcare. Learn how to provide exceptional patient care and forge meaningful connections with those you serve. Navigating Medical Challenges: From medical ethics dilemmas to emotional resilience, On Becoming a Doctor addresses the diverse challenges doctors encounter. Equip yourself with the tools to overcome obstacles and make a lasting impact on the lives of your patients. Thriving Beyond Residency: Beyond residency lies a vast landscape of opportunities. Learn about alternative career paths, research opportunities, and potential for leadership roles within the medical community. Unlock your potential and discover what lies ahead in your fulfilling medical journey. Empower yourself with knowledge, empathy, and resilience as you embrace the transformative journey of becoming a doctor. A perfect graduation gift for any aspiring medical professional!

“A fascinating journey into the heart and mind of a physician” that explores the doctor-patient relationship, the flaws in our health care system, and how doctors’ emotions impact medical care (Boston Globe) While much has been written about the minds and methods of the medical professionals who save our lives, precious little has been said about their emotions. Physicians are assumed to be objective, rational beings, easily able to detach as they guide patients and families through some of life’s most challenging moments. But understanding doctors’ emotional responses to the life-and-death dramas of everyday practice can make all the difference on giving and getting the best medical care. Digging deep into the lives of doctors, Dr. Danielle Ofri examines the daunting range of emotions—shame, anger, empathy, frustration, hope, pride, occasionally despair, and sometimes even love—that permeate the contemporary doctor-patient connection. Drawing on scientific studies, including some surprising research, Dr. Ofri offers up an unflinching look at the impact of emotions on health care. Dr. Ofri takes us into the swirling heart of patient care, telling stories of caregivers caught up and occasionally torn down by the whirlwind life of doctoring. She admits to the humiliation of an error that nearly killed one of her patients. She mourns when a beloved patient is denied a heart transplant. She tells the riveting stories of an intern traumatized when she is forced to let a newborn die in her arms, and of a doctor whose daily glass of wine to handle the frustrations of the ER escalates into a destructive addiction. Ofri also reveals that doctors cope through gallows humor, find hope in impossible situations, and surrender to ecstatic happiness when they triumph over illness.

In 2012, the White House put out a call to increase the number of STEM graduates by one million. Since then, hundreds of thousands of science students have started down the path toward a STEM career. Yet, of these budding scientists, more than half of all college students planning to study science or medicine leave the field during their academic careers. This guide is the perfect personal mentor for any aspiring scientist. Like an experienced lab partner or frank advisor, the book points out the pitfalls while providing encouragement. Chapters cover the entire college experience, including choosing a major, mastering study skills, doing scientific research, finding a job, and, most important, how to foster and keep a love of science.

This book helps and motivates doctors facing or contemplating leaving the profession. It offers simple but comprehensive strategies, resources and reflections to explore where they are, where they want to be, how to get there, and how to lead a content and fulfilling life if and when they do leave medicine.

If you've ever gotten wrapped up in the arcana of "E.R." or "House," or been absorbed by a piece in The New Yorker by Gawande, Groopman, or Nuland, or sat on that exam table wondering what's really going on in your doctor's head, then this book is for you. Expertise versus commonsense practice; moral judgments on young patients or their parents; asking tough questions; death and physician-assisted suicide; daily life with a doctor's job (yours or a family member's); doctors as patients-Klass addresses the primary issues in the life of any doctor and, by extension, the lives of those for whom they care. Perri Klass, M.D., is a writer, teacher, pediatrician, and mentor. In her frequent contributions to the New York Times, she takes on a host of issues particular to the life of a doctor-secrecy, ethics, fear, grief, and competition-with a warmth and wit her readers have come to love. Now, in the newest addition to Basic's Art of Mentoring series, she offers her guidance, and her stories, to a new generation of doctors and readers.

The first medical specialty selection guide written by residents for students! Provides an inside look at the issues surrounding medical specialty selection, blending first-hand knowledge with useful facts and statistics, such as salary information, employment data, and match statistics. Focuses on all the major specialties and features firsthand portrayals of each by current residents. Also includes a guide to personality characteristics that are predominate with practitioners of each specialty. “A terrific mixture of objective information as well as factual data make this book an easy, informative, and interesting read.” --Review from a 4th year Medical Student

From the earliest stages of our medical training, we experience unforgettable moments with our patients - inspiring, traumatic, joyful, and sometimes even humorous events. Too often, as doctors-in-training we talk about the suffering or recovery of our patients, ignoring our own emotions after these events, letting them passively shape us until we dig ourselves into an abyss of burn out and resentment. Diary of a Med Student is a book created by medical students, for medical students, doctors, pre-med students, and their loved ones to look backward, forward, and laterally on the wonderful world of medical school. This book offers a space to reflect on our emotions, process their meaning, and share them as tales of sorrow, humor, joy, or inspiration, told from the perspective of medical students writing in a diary. While the act of sharing emotion is itself therapeutic, reading these emotional challenges that we can all relate to is unifying and comforting, providing us with insight through the lessons conveyed in the light of a variety of feelings. Let this book spark a powerful domino effect of change in medical education: in the way we teach physicians to create a safe space for inner reflection and expression of emotion to ultimately enhance physician wellness.