Book Recommendations for Medical Applicants
Admittedly, between personal statements, exams, UCAT and interviews, free time for a medical applicant is scarce. That being said, reading medical books can be extremely beneficial in the application process. They can offer a real insight into the realities of medicine and can also provide motivation by reminding you of your end-goal: ultimately becoming a doctor. Having read these books, you will be able to refer to them in interviews if asked about wider reading. This will allow you to demonstrate a genuine interest in the field. If a book particularly motivated you in any way or contributed to your decision to pursue medicine, this may even be something you choose to mention in your personal statement. To get you started, I have listed some of my favourite medical related books that I think other applicants would enjoy!
1. This Is Going To Hurt by Adam Kay
Told through the eyes of a comedic Obstetrics and Gynaecologist working in the NHS, this has quickly become the quintessential medical book. Written in the form of Kay’s real diary entries, the book documents the real peaks and troughs of life as a junior doctor and beyond. Kay manages to find humour in the bleakest of circumstances. While it is largely comical, the overarching message is that of how challenging the field can be. Indeed the book starts with Kay telling the reader that he has resigned from his job as a doctor, and as the book develops we begin to understand why.
2. Complications by Atul Gawande
Atul Gawande, a surgical resident in the United States, uses his real cases to explore the field of medicine, its limitations and how a human learns to insert knives into another. The book discusses many perplexing, and often enigmatic, medical concepts that are as interesting as they are educational. Meaning that the book essentially is real-life Grey’s Anatomy!
3. Do No Harm by Henry Marsh
Similar to complications, yet completely distinct, Do No Harm documents life as an NHS neurosurgical consultant. With decades of experience, Marsh discusses his most interesting cases in one of the most cutting edge, elusive specialities. The devastating consequences for patients when things go wrong, and how doctors cope with not only these complications but the high degree of responsibility they hold.
4. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
As Kalanithi slowly but surely ascends to the peak of his career as a neurosurgeon, he is devastatingly diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Written by the neurosurgeon before he died, the book documents his diagnosis, his experience of treatment, and his desire to live his life fully before he dies. From the perspective of a doctor-turned-patient, the book offers insightful views on what makes life worth living, and importantly humanises the medical field.
5.Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
In this book, Gawande discusses the experience of mortality in the ever-advancing field of medicine. As science pushes the boundaries of life-sustaining treatment, Gawande discusses how the system continues to fail the dying on a global level. This insightful book will challenge your understanding and beliefs regarding medical treatment for the elderly and terminally ill. Thus, humanising the role of a doctor and reflecting on how treatment balances with quality of life as life comes to its end. This is definitely an extremely topical issue in medicine that could be discussed at your medical school interview!