Life as a physician is an interesting one. To the public it is the obvious profession for type A, science minded people. And don’t forget the money. Hard to find someone who can see past the comfortable income to see the years of sacrifice without an income and with crippling debt. But for those of us who see medicine as more than a “job” the money, the science well it falls short of a true explanation.
I don’t usually read books on life in a hospital, either out of my own memories long since supressed to a deep area of my brain, or the lack of honesty that comes through tacky interpretations of “Greys Anatomy” like life. But if you want to understand medicine as a selfless vocation, then you must read When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kilanithi. Get tissues ready, prepare your gut for a punch but also be more hopeful about human interpersonal relationships than ever before.