Heart Failure:
|
REVIEW BY BRETT PERUZZI
Dr. Michael Greger, a 1999 graduate of Tufts Medical School, has penned a stinging indictment of the process of becoming a doctor. Based on a diary he kept as a third year medical student, Greger dedicates his e-book "To all the students who went to bed crying or woke up screaming. To all those who needed to leave their hearts at the door." His intention, as he states in his preface, is to share, particularly with pre-med students, "a version of medical education that they will not find in medical school brochures." Greger's book is, in fact, antithetical to what any medical school would print in its brochures. Heart Failure: Diary of a Third Year Medical Student is unflinching in its criticism of the medical education process, a disenchanted, cynical portrait that could discourage many pre-med students. The chapters follow Greger, who has just completed two years of classroom work, as he begins to treat patients. He takes the reader through his rotations in different medical specialties, including pediatrics, surgery, psychiatry, obstetrics, gynecology and internal medicine. In each rotation, Greger confronts instances of what he sees as lapses in ethics, disregard for patient rights and well-being, and just plain cruelty. An eager pre-med student, Greger starts out as an idealist imbued with a sense of integrity and duty towards his chosen field. But with the passage of time, he finds that many of his ideals run counter to the reality he experiences. Rather than being lauded, his sensitivity and empathy toward patients are often criticized by the doctors with whom he works. Playing the role of a medical student activist, Greger does not keep his misgivings about his education to himself. His protests bring him before the deans of Tufts Medical School on several occasions before he graduates. Written in a diary format, Heart Failure relies heavily on anecdotes and employs short passages, some of which are only a single sentence in length. The book is also laced with quotations and footnotes, proving that Greger has researched his topic thoroughly—so thoroughly, in fact, that two-thirds of the book consists of appendices. An eye-opening, behind-the-scenes look at how doctors are trained, Heart Failure may indeed give pause to anyone considering the field of medicine. And, perhaps just as significantly, it may give patients enough skepticism to question their doctors and demand a voice in their own treatment. Brett Peruzzi is a writer in Massachusetts.
|
