A Not Entirely Benign Procedure: Four Years as a Medical Student by Perri Klass

A Not Entirely Benign Procedure: Four Years as a Medical Student Reviews

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  Susan

  Perri Klass is that rare beast, a doctor who cares for people and writing. She writes with humor and little regret in this collection of (updated) essays about learning to become a medical professional, to get on with the business of medicine while suffering from sleep deprivation and terminable ignorance. Although A NOT ENTIRELY BENIGN PROCEDURE came out almost 20 years ago, when she spoke at the Columbia Medical School last night Perri's schtick seemed unchanged. The young woman who had to go into the ladies' room to splash her face with water or cry out in order to carry on is the admirable pediatrician who now writes fiction (MERCY RULES) as her outlet along with prescriptions for age-appropriate books and antibiotics for her little patients. She founded Reach out and Read
  http://www.reachoutandread.org/ to pave children's way with books.
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  Allie Lyle

  The more I read, the more I loved this book. As I'm approaching the start of my medical education as a nontraditional, married student who hopes to be a pediatrician, coupled with a great possibility of starting a family while in school, I really appreciated Dr. Klass' insights. I also hope to do away rotations in other countries like India, so that segment of this book was also enjoyable. Her writing is very genuine and candid, which really reeled me into her stories. I also appreciated the Author's Notes in this revised edition. Very well done. I hope to read her other books someday.
• 
  Babs

  Because you WILL get sick, because you WILL die (hopefully not in a hospital), because you WILL need a doctor...this book is a must-read. Dr. Perri Klass, in a series of essays written during her 4 years as a medical student at Harvard, gives us an insiders look at the way doctors are trained in the U.S. I agree with Dr. Klass when she says "I believe that the major danger is still too much intervention-- not too little."
  
  My bedside advice to you...don't visit your Doctor, or go to the hospital until you have read this book.
• 
  Laila Tarek

  Easily one of my favorite non-fiction reads this year (and of all time, really).
  
  I don't think I'll write a full review about this one because it felt like a very personal experience to explore the journey of someone studying in my field and going through all the milestones that really do set my career out. Going through medical learning through her gave me some sort of comfort that I can do this too even if I feel like giving up some days.
  I dog-eared a lot of pages to revisit when I need a reminder of why I'm doing this, and I'm very glad this was a book provided by our medical ethics professor in my university program.
• 
  Rachel

  My review from 2005: This book is a collection of essays, many of which apparently were published previously in Mademoiselle, The New York Times, and other magazines. Together, they form a coherent, cogent, and humorous chronicle of the author's experiences as a medical student. They also form an effective critique of the medical school and hospital institutions, pointing out problems and poking holes in the inflated self-importance that permeates the medical field, while at the same time conveying immense respect where it is due. A very enjoyable read.
• 
  Allison Park

  In A Not Entirely Benign Procedure, Perri Klass gives an intimate account of her experience of simultaneously being a Harvard medical student, wife, mother and weekly columnist for the New York Times. This book is honest, and tells of tales varying from humorous to tragic. She ponders her experiences and pours out her emotions. Personally, I found her discussion of gender and sexism the most interesting. She claims that most female doctors are often mistaken for nurses, a mishap that rarely to never occurs with male doctors. I recommend this book to curious readers and readers interested in the field of medicine.
  
  
• 
  Deanne Dumo

  This is a compliation of anecdotes and reflections of a medical student undergoing her first four years of training in the 1980's in the US. I got it from a book sale, I immediately got curious about the content. It was always a mystery to me how doctors came to be. The memoir shows how the training changes the author, how the physical challenges in her beginning years at the hospital began to mature her perspective slowly, with discipline and the constant discovery of knowledge being instilled in her throughtout her cases. The book was hard to put down.
• 
  Peter

  This is a fairly intimidating book. It consists of essays written by the author as she progressed through medical school into internship, having a child and quite a lot of doubts along the way. I liked the unusually frank portrayal of med students, interns, residents and general hospital care. I would recommend this book to anyone aiming for medical school but only in conjunction with something a bit more upbeat.
• 
  Leah

  A collection of fascinating, thoughtful, well-written essays about medical school. The third section is particularly good. I made my husband, who is an attending, read the essay called "Power Plays" and he could barely finish it because he was laughing so hard. The essay entitled "Baby Poop" should be a classic that is reprinted all over the place (yes, I am serious, and yes, that's really what the essay is about - or at least what it starts out being about). Definitely recommended.
• 
  Jonathan

  Blech. Maybe it's just because most of this isn't new for me, but I found this a bit of a slog. Some good essays in the mix, particularly those dealing with ethical or cultural aspects of medicine, but overall dull.
• 
  Kipp

  An introspective view of 4 years of Harvard Medical School. Perri Klass offers a unique perspective, for 3 reasons - first, she's a woman, in what at the time was an extremely male-dominated profession.
  
  Second, she's pregnant, and gives birth during the course of her medical training - giving her a unique perspective on the roles and modus operandi of both patients AND doctors. For instance, in her analysis of her own training, she comes to realize that much of the medical profession at the time treated pregnancy as another form of pathology - to be handled as one would a disease, rather than recognizing that pregnancy and birth had been going on for thousands of years before the advent of the medical profession. The phrase 'When you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail' comes to mind - very familiar in my extensive dealings with the medical profession.
  
  And lastly, she's reflective and introspective about the experience, and communicates that introspection through these short essays. Again, not something most M.D.s are known for (a broad generalization, to be sure - but also grounded in truth). She gives a clear picture of what it's actually like being on call as a fourth-year med student - an authentic, first-person perspective that's difficult to find many other places.
  
  This is a worthwhile read for anyone who has flirted or is flirting with the idea of going through medical training - and for those who have had extended dealings with those in the medical profession. My only caution is to be cognizant of the time at which the book was written - one could easily judge the entire field of medical education today based on the reflections in this book, and in so doing, the reader would likely be misinformed. While the attitudes and practices recounted are almost certainly still a part of the medical field, it's worth considering that many things have changed since the late '80's.
  
  Still, although it is slightly dated in this day and age, there is a plethora of understanding to be found here.
• 
  Hayley

  I read this book years ago, and now that I'm on the cusp of my medical education, I'm re-reading it.
  
  It's interesting for anyone thinking about going to medical school, or who has a loved one about to undergo or currently undergoing medical school. It's fairly well-written, but not anything amazing.
• 
  Joanna

  Reading this as a second-year med student was awesome. The author is so eloquent at expressing the shared perspectives and experiences of medical training, and the book is full of amusing stories to boot. I kept finding myself thinking, "Oh my gosh...that's EXACTLY what I feel like!" I really enjoyed this.
• 
  Danielle

  Highly recommended. I read this years ago; it was terrific and many things that she wrote really stuck in my head.
• 
  Alison

  This book took me back to medical school! I remember being so green and wondering if I would ever get the hang of it. Now I wish I had all of the idealism back that I lost on the way!
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  Polly

  time peice
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  Carrie

  books I've read,memoir
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  M

  
  
  
  
  
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  Tasila

  Interesting play with words and a behind the scenes look at the medical training and profession .