Unusually well written book about the whole decade long process of learning to become a doctor at a major public hospital in Manhattan. ( )

Ofri's first book; tells the story of her "becoming a doctor at Bellevue," starting with her truncated third-year residency (after she completed the PhD part of her MD/PhD). It's a collection of vignettes rather than a more straightforward narrative—this is largely because 12 of the 16 stories recounted her were previously published in essay form. (Several also reappear, from a different angle, in her later WHAT DOCTORS FEEL—probably her other books, as well.) Taken together, though, they provide an impressionistic account of one person's experience becoming a physician.

I found it somewhat uneven, both in terms of emotional heft and style. Her prose, at least relative to my memory of WHAT DOCTORS FEEL, is a bit more overwrought, more clearly trying to signal "literary-ness" (although still clear and readable). In the conclusion (which bookends the prologue, splitting a patient's story in a very effective way), she writes about the importance of acknowledging emotions in medicine, and most of the chapters do address her emotional responses to the cases she's writing about. However, there were several that I found mostly forgettable—they failed to have the same impact on me that they had on Ofri. The others, though, are compelling enough to carry the book.

A fascinating story that follows the journey of Danielle Ofri from wet-behind the ears medical student to the end of her residency at Bellevue Hospital in New York. Extremely well written, this was a fascinating peek under the tent at the human side of medicine - the vulnerabilities of doctors who are not as all-knowing as they appear. Well worth reading. ( )

Anyone concerned with "end-of-life" medical treatment issues
should read this! Author is honest about gaining experience
as in intern and then resident in a big city public hospital. ( )

Self-important and annoying