What I Learned in Medical School Personal Stories of Young Doctors [Paperback]

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 moldwhite, male, middle-to-upper class, and heterosexualmedical school can be that much more harrowing. This riveting book tells the tales of a new generation of medical studentsstudents 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, an alcoholic hides her addiction. We hear the stories of an Asian refugee, a Mexican immigrant, a closeted Christian, an oversized womanthese 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-openingand altogether unforgettable.

Kevin M. Takakuwais resident physician at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of the medical school at the University of California, Davis.Nick Rubashkinis a medical student at Stanford University.Karen E. Herzigearned a Ph.D. in health psychology from the University of California, San Francisco, where she currently works as a researcher.

Foreword, by Joycelyn Elders
Acknowledgments
Introduction

PART ONE: LIFE AND FAMILY HISTORIES
1. Being Refugee
Eddy V. Nguyen
2. Melanies Story
Melanie M. Watkins
3. Pavement
Nick Rubashkin
4. Whispers from the Third Generation
Paul M. LantolÃ#