Intern: a doctor’s initiation by Sandeep Jauhar

 After finishing reading another doctor’s memoir and feeling unsatisfied, I read this book again, as I wanted to know why I felt good about this book about 10 years ago. Until now, I’ve read several books in the form of personal stories by doctors. A few of them are quite well-written and remain precious to me, whereas most books by doctors are superficial or shallow to me, and I usually find nothing in such books. Different from such books, this book ‘Intern’ is one of my favorite books among personal stories written by doctors.

The author, an Indian-American, entered medical school after getting a Ph.D. in physics. This book contains how he became to accept a medical doctor as his job in the long years of refusal and skepticism. Many pages of this book are about an internship, the first year of residency training. He vividly portrayed mental anguish and physically unbearable hardship experienced as an intern, and I could not help but sympathize with him. He also described realistically why he chose to become a doctor in the end. His parents always recommended him to be a doctor. They considered becoming a doctor would be the best choice for their bright son, as their son would undergo less unfair treatment or discrimination, and job security and affluence would be guaranteed if he could be a doctor. Many parents recommend their children to be a doctor for such reasons even in Korea.

This book made me look back on previous days and think ‘I could’ve done better’.

The author’s skill as a writer and his habit of keeping a journal seems to have made this book very vivid and informative. I hope my daughter also writes a diary every day soon.

 

Written by Shim G.

 

Friday, January 15, 2021

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