The House of God: The Classic Novel of Life and Death in an American Hospital | Samuel Shem

The House of God: The Classic Novel of Life and Death in an American Hospital | Samuel Shem | Perhaps a bit dated, but a Must-Read, nonetheless

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The House of God: ...

	The House of God: The Classic Novel of Life and Death in an American Hospital Samuel Shem Dell, 2003 - 416 pages average customer review:based on 142 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A MUST READ FOR ANYONE IN MEDICINE!! HILARIOUS!!

This book is so clever and witty!! I am a third year medical student and after this book was suggested to me by many of my preceptors, i finally found some time to read it!!! If you love the TV series "SCRUBS," then you'll LOVE THIS BOOK!!!

Perhaps a bit dated, but a Must-Read, nonetheless

I didn't read this book until I was a resident. The hospital I trained at wasn't anything like this in actuality, but the personalities, struggles, and oddities seem to be universal. A must-read for anyone in medical training.

Great Book but out of date

Great book which reflects medical training about 30 years ago.

However, with the new emphasis on work hour regulations, an 80 hour week, no call, and relatively few American medical graduates going into the type of Internal Medicine training described in the book, it is kind of a fossil.

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Not a fan of his style but hits the mark in many ways

This book is a "characture" of the life of a first-year resident in a large urban teaching hospital. Like all charactures, certain features are exaggerated to the point of absurdity. Still, there is much that rings true in these pages.

I found Shem's prose choppy and his character development somewhat abbreviated and symbolic, but again the characters were charactures of themselves and not intended to be "real" in the usual sense of character development.

The rules of The House of God are interesting, and a few I found worth actually passing on, like I. "Gomers go to ground" and III. "AT A CARDIAC ARREST, THE FIRST PROCEDURE IS TO TAKE YOUR OWN PULSE."

The one thing that Shem captures well is the coping mechanisms used by medical professionals, especially in high-stress medical sectors like Emergency Medicine. "Black humor" and sarcasm carry the day in the ED.

I've worked in emergency medicine for more than 15 years and I think that anyone who works in the ICU or ER certainly should check out this book. It is a "quotable".

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