As a healthcare student, I read a lot of nonfiction books regarding medicine, healthcare and science in general. I’m wondering whether anyone else has any similar interests?
There’s a variety of medical literature out there. One of the more famous names is probably Oliver Sacks, a British neurologist. One of his most famous books is The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. One thing that stands out in Oliver’s books is that he makes his patients appear human. All too often it is easy to get absorbed into the diagnosis and the pathology behind the diseases, and forget that there is a person behind all of those long-winded words. Oliver uses his sharp writing skills to describe the impact of the often fascinating diseases on the patient and their family, talking about their day-to-day life and how it’s been affected. There are some beautifully poignant moments in the book which illustrate Oliver’s caring nature towards his patients. His books also show how complex the brain is, and how much we take for granted until those abilities are suddenly lost to us.
There is also a UK-based psychiatrist called Max Pemberton who has written a number of books about his job as a junior doctor, and then as a psychiatrist working with the homeless. Like Oliver Sacks, you can see that he really cares about his patients and sees them as more than just a package of diseases. He only talks about a few patients in his books, so that you begin to build a relationship with them as well and feel just as concerned as he was when dealing with their illnesses. I also think he writes well – not in an Oscar Wilde kind of poetic style, but in a humorous manner which makes the reading quite light.
I’m also rather interested in the history of medicine, so I’m going to mention The Rise and Fall of Modern Medicine by James Le Fanu. This is quite a popular book among medical applicants here in the UK, as it describes most of the main scientific and medical breakthroughs and how they have impacted the care we deliver today. It’s an interesting book to read if you’d like to find out more, not only about how science and medicine has evolved throughout the years, but also what is set in store for the future based on current developments.
I think when people consider medial books, they may gravitate towards “rare” and “exotic” diseases. If anyone has watched the House MD TV series or is simply interested in the rarer side of medicine, Every Patient Tells a Story: Medical Mysteries and the Art of Diagnosis by Lisa Sanders is a good book to read.
I’m also particularly interested in the healthcare system, mainly here in the UK but I’ve recently gained an interest in international health as well. I think things like the placebo effect are very interesting, and I have an interest in the mind and psychiatry/neurology in general. Is anyone else interested in those sorts of topics?
I’ve read a couple of the “Anti-Psychiatry movement” books (Thomas Szasz being the main guy), the most recent of which is Cracked: Why Psychiatry is doing more harm than good by James Davies. In it he talks about the overprescription of antidepressants and the negative influences of the pharmaceutical companies on research and subsequent prescriptions by doctors. I found he wrote quite persuadably at times, and I did find myself agreeing with him in some of his chapters. But ultimately, I do think these kinds of topics need to be handled very carefully as there are many people out there who rely on such drugs that he talks about.
I’ve found it can be a bit of a sensitive issue with some people; Psychiatry still does not seem to be held in the same esteem as other medical specialities by some members of the public, which I think is a pity. There is certainly a lot of stigma revolving around mental illness.
If you are interested in reading about the pharmaceutical companies influences on drug prescrptions etc, I would instead recommend two of Ben Goldacre’s (a British doctor) books: Bad Pharma and Bad Science.
I’ve rambled on a bit, but I really just wanted to see if anyone else has read any medical/sciencey books, or has such an interest.
Edited by Angury