On Call: A Doctor's Days and Nights in Residency

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By: Emily R. Transue M.D.
(23 customer reviews)
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EDITORIAL REVIEW

On Call begins with a newly-minted doctor checking in for her first day of residency--wearing the long white coat of an MD and being called "Doctor" for the first time. Having studied at Yale and Dartmouth, Dr. Emily Transue arrives in Seattle to start her internship in Internal Medicine just after graduating from medical school. This series of loosely interconnected scenes from the author's medical training concludes her residency three years later.

During her first week as a student on the medical wards, Dr. Transue watched someone come into the emergency room in cardiac arrest and die. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before-it was a long way from books and labs. So she began to record her experiences as she gained confidence putting her book knowledge to work.

The stories focus on the patients Dr. Transue encountered in the hospital, ER and clinic; some are funny and others tragic. They range in scope from brief interactions in the clinic to prolonged relationships during hospitalization. There is a man newly diagnosed with lung cancer who is lyrical about his life on a sunny island far away, and a woman, just released from a breathing machine after nearly dying, who sits up and demands a cup of coffee.

Though the book has a great deal of medical content, the focus is more on the stories of the patients' lives and illnesses and the relationships that developed between the patients and the author, and the way both parties grew in the course of these experiences.

Along the way, the book describes the life of a resident physician and reflects on the way the medical system treats both its patients and doctors. On Call provides a window into the experience of patients at critical junctures in life and into the author's own experience as a new member of the medical profession.

PRODUCT DETAILS

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Pub. Date: 14th July 2005
Catalog: Book
Media: Paperback
Number Of Pages: 256
Ean: 9780312324841
Isbn: 0312324847

ABOUT THIS BOOK

USER REVIEWS

Compassion meets chaos in this real Grey's Anatomy
~ Written on Mar 7, 2010. out of users found this review helpful.

Not to denigrate Dr.Transue and certainly not to appear sexist, but I wish this book had been written by someone far more cynical (like a man)... my hope was to be overwhelmed with the extreme pressure, frustration and exhaustion that these young doctors go through upon their initial entry into the "real" medical field. I was hoping to see how their youthful motivation to "conquer the world" comes crashing down in day after day of sleeplessness and the realization of how much they have yet to learn. Dr. Transue certainly conveys some of this but her compassionate and palliative manner dominate...she doesn't nearly approach the outbursts of sarcasm and acrimony that I certainly would have felt and then transcribed!

But really, this is a fine book that encapsulates the immense learning curve that these young men and women in the medical field must face. Dr. Transue overcomes this as well while managing to compel an astounding comportment of caring and tenderness that most doctors seemingly lack (at least the ones that I've been to). She seems to really connect with most of her patients in an ethereal way and we see her following up when it's not really required, going the extra step to probe for the absolute best analysis she can manage when a diagnosis is already at hand and, most impressively, being the reassuring listener that most of these patients sorely need. This she does seemingly instinctively which I'm sure has made her an outstanding doctor today. We get a lot of the medical speak that one would expect of a work such as this, but always it's followed by, first, an interpretation in layman's terms and, second, how this choice of care is the best for her patient.

Essentially a diary of Dr. Transue's early days of internship, "On Call" is a surprisingly lucid and sympathetic work. The task of making a doctor these days is seemingly very spirit bursting while also being extremely harsh on the body and she presents an admiral and compelling story of hard that task is. I just wish she threw a few more tantrums and swore a lot more! Otherwise, great book Dr. Transue and one that all readers should enjoy.

True to Life and Inspiring
~ Written on Dec 13, 2009. out of users found this review helpful.

As a fourth year medical student preparing to embark into the journey of a residency, this book articulated so many of the emotions and experiences I have both witnessed and expect to witness during the next few years of my life. The author's ability to capture a patient interaction accurately in a few words and the way she is able to tease apart complicated emotions into a digestible story for the reader makes this book an amazing read. I initially rented this book from the library - I will be buying it to lend out to family members and friends to help them understand what I will be experiencing during the next 3 years.

On call, great book!
~ Written on Oct 18, 2009. out of users found this review helpful.

I really enjoyed this book. As an undergraduate student considering a career in medicine, it was a great primer to understand what I'm up against. This book provides somewhat of a chronology of events and incidents that took place during Dr. Transue's residency in Internal Medicine. If you're interested in either Internal Medicine or the life of a student doctor (Resident/Intern), check this book out!

Honest
~ Written on Sep 26, 2009. 2 out of 2 users found this review helpful.

Honest. Dr. Transue writes with a sense of honesty not seen in many other `Doctor' books. This isn't a romanticized tale of how a doctor is made nor is it an account on the clinical thoughts of physicians, but it is an honest look at the trials and tribulations of residency: sleep deprivation, long work hours, anxiety, self doubt, etc. One point in the book Dr. Transue allows us to follow her as she grows into a physician through the stories of her patients.

As a medical student, just a few months away from residency, I wish she would discuss where she found her resolve. At times I found myself wanting to know more about her personal life. From talking to my friends who are residents, I'm afraid her omission is due to her life being confined by the walls of the hospital.

In medical training we are forced to confront life changing occurrences daily, so that we can keep calm and help when others would be flustered. This can mute our emotions. This book was a nice reminder that although things may seem banal to you, to the patient his or her life is forever changed. I will be sure to carry this book and remind myself that we should grow as humans, not only doctors, through our patients.

Prompt Service
~ Written on Sep 14, 2009. out of 1 users found this review helpful.

I just want to compliment the fast service that I had when I ordered this book. It came in right when I needed it the most!

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