Capable satire of the asclepian arts, complete with the revelation of an otherwise sotto voce set of agambenian rules, as supplied by memorable deuteragonist.

DNF. Just couldn’t relate.

the misogyny was a slap in the face. couldn’t really get past that

This book was recommended to me by literally so many attendings and now I just cannot help but laugh imagining them reading this. Dr. Bradsher told me "it's weird but overall good. And it's raunchy." He was right. I honestly did think the book could do without all the weird sex stuff, like why was there an orgy. I am glad I read this after third year because I don't think I would've believed how the hospital is depicted is otherwise. I think I learned from this book, but also now I am terrified of getting cheated on with a nurse. I don't know how the real Berry read this and survived, she is stronger than me. Ofc my first away is at this hospital, see you in two weeks house of god!

Good argument against excessive intervention almost overshadowed by 300 pages of egomaniacal nonsense

I think I might be one of the few, if only, non-medical professionals reviewing this book. All the reviews I've seen have come from physicians, surgeons, nurses, etc.; and this was, in fact, recommended to me by a doctor friend after I asked for keystone books in other fields. That said, my background is in social work and I have worked in a nursing home, so many of the concepts in this book (e.g. gomers, admissions) were not foreign to me.

Reviewers have said the book is outdated (definitely) but that it was on-point and 5-star worthy when it came out. I have a seriously hard time believing that. To begin, this book reads first and foremost like a spread inside a Playboy magazine, using medicine as just a context. It has a heavy, unavoidable pornographic element and was clearly written by a man for other men (the author says at the end of the book that this was originally written for his male intern buddies, so there you go).

Not only are the sexual situations hilariously unrealistic a la "One and a Half Men" (e.g. all the nurses unabashedly changing down to their bare breasts in front of the interns and wearing crotch-high skirts to work), the author makes a blatant point to describe every single female that makes an appearance in the book in sexual terms. Literally, all of them. You read about the panties or boobs of EVERY female character, even the dying gomers, even the ones that are only in the book for 0.5 seconds, even when it makes absolutely no sense to do so. Sure, it's sexist; but more than that, it's pointless. It's what crosses this book into pornography.

Secondly, despite all the heart-wrenching lessons you learn about the crappiness that is the medical system and the hardships med students/interns/residents face, the plot is underdeveloped. To say there is no plot would not be true, but it's pretty close. It contains no twists, no turns, no character development, no suspense, no conflict, no climax (save the sexual kind. There were lots of those). It's one extended flat-line.

Where the book shines, and why I imagine it's so popular with medical professionals and students, is in its relatability. Even being outdated, it does a great job expressing the insane hardships medical staff experience on a daily basis. I can imagine this being a valuable tool in helping partners, friends, and family members understand what a med intern/resident is going through. I can also see its cathartic capabilities in current medical interns/residents.

But - it's not a good fiction book. Certainly not 5-star worthy, now or ever.

if i didn’t have to read this for a class i wouldn’t have finished it. what a goddamn drag, if i worked with any of these bozos irl i would

DNF at page 135.
I really tried to give this book a shot, but I just could not read one single page more of this book.
I absolutely despise this book, and it made me actually angry every time I tried to read it.
The characters are awful, have no remorse, guilt, doubt or depth whatsoever. I wasn’t rooting for anyone, and the actual story in the book was almost nonexistent. The book is filled with misogyny and gross sexualisation of literally every single female character.
I really thought this book would fit right into the type of book I would like: The medical topics, ethics, cynicism and not necessarily feel-good with likeable characters sounded right up my alley. It was recommended as a book which anyone in or interested in the medical field should read. But oh my god I have no idea why anyone would ever recommend this book. Please save yourself the money, time and anger and frustration. I wish I had never opened this book, and I would rate it lower if I could.

DNF @41%

I cannot do it. I cant. This book is disgusting. Like I can tolerate a lot of gross in the name of something amazing but…this book is not about medicine. It’s about sex, and women that have no purpose other than to act as sex objects. Not to mention the gross way the author describes everything…I don’t want to hear about women “with the face of an eight year old” being described in the way they are. In the end, the “message” that’s trying to be sent about medicine isn’t worth the rest of the grossness.

I think this book is a great satire. Although some of the plot lines in the book may be dated or perverted, I believe that their ridiculousness was intentional/essential to the point the author was trying to make about detachment and dehumanization in the face of a REALLY fucked up and broken system. And as dark and disturbing as it gets at times, I don’t think the author loses sight of what is good in medicine or even how to not lose yourself to disillusionment as a doctor, which made it a very interesting pre medical school read.

Prvi susret sa ovom knjigom pre 15 meseci (iskrena preporuka logoreične doktorke kojoj sam asistirala par nedelja) - zgrožena. Želudac se prevrće na seksizam, ejdžizam, patetične pokušaje humora, aroganciju novopečenih lekara, 70 strana pređeno kao po kazni i šlus. Ne mogu ja to.

Danas, sa neuporedivo više razumevanja, želuca ojačanog gutanjem osećaja nemoći, ubeđena da me malo šta više može iznenaditi u zdravstvenim ustanovama (... do sledećeg radnog dana), sedim i kikoćem se zbog istih paragrafa koji su me ranije užasavali. Jedna od onih - nije baš dobra knjiga, ali je neophodna knjiga.

2.75 ⭐️ rounded up. I liked the concept but the writing style and language were not for me. Very wordy for a simple point to be made. Ended up skimming the last third of the book.