"Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts."
- Charles Dickens
There have been many books written on medical residency and being a physician; one of the most notable is
The House of God by
Samuel Shem. It's interesting to see how things have changed since the 1970s when
The House of God was written. That book, probably in no small way, played a great part in initiating that change in medical residency training. Other books, such as
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by
Anne Fadiman (who I have had the pleasure of meeting in person), have changed how physicians deal with patients from diverse cultural backgrounds. Each of these books depict medicine in the United States as it was at the time they were written. Through these books, the general public, who previously weren't privy to the culture of medicine, were able to glimpse through a window into medicine's secret workings - it's horrors, it's failings, it's triumphs, and it's wonders.
But I have yet to come across a book dedicated to that nebulous journey before doctor-hood: medical school. Perhaps it's a story that can't compare to the highs and the lows of medical residency and beyond. Perhaps it's a story that doesn't lend itself well to being told. Perhaps it's a story not worth telling. But it is a story that, for better or worse, is lived out each day by tens of thousands of medical students across the United States.
Four Plus will thus be one account out of those tens of thousands. In the United States, medical school is a minimum of 4 years barring time off or completion of another degree (usually a Master's in something like business or public health). In these four plus years, medical students will discover who they are, what they value, and the paths their future will take.
So please tag along and be a passenger along the journey towards doctor-hood. Let Charles Dickens' words above ring true and, at the end, let some clarity pierce through this nebulous four plus years.
