PLAYING DOCTOR - Part One

This seems different to other books of this genre. I enjoyed it and found it was an interesting read. I’m not sure if I’ll go on to read any of the other books in the series but I’d like to

This is exactly what you'd expect - set in the USA, an enjoyable memoir of how the author decided on medical school and what went on in the four years there

I laughed out loud at many places in this book – and also showed paragraphs to my husband who also laughed. So serious and yet so ridiculously true.
Personally, my daughter and I, are often used by the Consultants as what they call informed patients. They send the baby doctors over to us to take an in-depth assessment of what is wrong with us and to make a diagnosis. As we are informed patients, we frequently find we have to give large hints to the babies. Like feel this – or look more carefully at that, or what often comes alongside that. And then they proudly go off to tell the consultants what they have found out, but have still missed the most telling diagnosis even after all the help we give them. We aren’t permitted to actually tell them the answers, just to prompt them. They only want us to answer yes or no – see location 725, they don’t realize that there is never a yes or no answer. When you are a patient there are always shades of grey involved.
The one most important quote I am going away with from this book is from Plato -
Plato believed that do inserts a new knee into my cavity and chips away at it to make it fit neatly and bend correctly. Well I’m not saying this during the op of course…doctors should be made up of those who had experienced injury and illness and had undertaken the treatment that they were now proposing to he patient. I totally agree. As I have said many times to my consultants – how can you say this won’t hurt much, or only a sharp scratch or.. if they not had the treatment themselves, they have no idea of the pain they will be putting me through.
And yes, i totally agree that the orthopods have he best carpentry tools. I tell my orthopod this and tell him that he is a glorified carpenter as he
I have also objected to the term doctor. As do nurses I have found out. Having studied and researched for 5 long years and written a 100,000 word dissertation of an addition to knowledge to obtain my nomenclature as a doctor, studying 3 years and passing exams which only require memory, does not a doctor make. In fact the term doctor is an honorific. Doctor comes from the Latin word for "teacher" and originally referred to a small group of theologians who had approval from the Church in the 14th century to speak on religious matters. [Merriam Dictionary],

The story opens with a quote from Voltaire: “The Art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.” John Lawrence provides just the right type of humor to amuse his readers as he leads us through a stream of consciousness memoir of how he became a doctor. Playing Doctor: Part 1 is as engaging as it is enlightening. Lawrence describes every step of his unique journey becoming a doctor: from proving interest during interviews to navigating the first years of medical school after suffering from traumatic brain injury. He describes the ups and downs of the medical school journey through vivid descriptions of patients, lessons learned, and personal anecdotes. If you’re at all interested in what goes on beyond the “Staff Only” doors in a teaching hospital, give Playing Doctor: Part One a go!

John Lawrence didn't grow up wanting to be a doctor: he wanted to be a scriptwriter. This is the story of how he ended in medical school and became a family doctor. Starting med school with a traumatic brain injury (bike riders, please wear a helmet!), he has a tough first year. As his brain heals, Lawrence learns to thrive, survive, and succeed in his chosen field. I would recommend this book to anyone thinking of going to med school. Well written and well told. I look forward to reading his other books as they become available.

Due to the state of the world right now we should all appreciate medical personal more and reading this book solidified that. We all think we know how grueling medical school is, what those men and women go through on a daily basis all to help out humanity, but you don’t know the half of it until you dive in to this story.. What this author went through as a person and as a medical student is remarkable and I took forward to reading the next book in the series to see how he flourished in what seems like impossible odds. This book is wonderfully humorous and delightfully sassy, pick it up, you won’t regret it.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Following the journey of John during his first few years of medical school was such a fun read! Who would have ever imagined he would begin his schooling as a patient in the emergency department?! Though he encounters a few set backs from a traumatic brain injury, to only having a bike for transportation and limited money supply, John made it work! I appreciated his bluntness of why he chose certain rotation paths. It was also interesting to learn about how each leader during a rotation is so different, I can't imagine how stressful that would be especially when you are dealing with someone's health!

I can't wait to read the follow up books about his journey through residency!

Good doc memoir-interesting, informative, a bit different.

I love medical memoirs and this was a good one. A bit different in that he hadn't always dreamed of going to medical school. He hadn't intended to. I've read some memoirs where their desire has been evident early on; to be eg a vet or a doctor-being a doctor seems the main thing he's dead set against being! And he didn't exactly have the best or easiest of starts to his medical studies, having just suffered a head injury and associated difficulties with that; memory problems, fatigue etc.

I don't think it's the best doc memoir I've read, but it was good, and interesting, and informative. I am encouraged to read his other parts/next books on his journey as a doctor.

He takes us on a tour through the various departments and specialities he's worked in qualifying as a doctor eg. Cardiology, Obstetrics. Also a spell at the Burns ICU, Orthopedics, then a stint in Rural Medicine, Psychiatry, and Anaesthesia.

At first, this was not quite what I expected-I thought it was going to be about a country or village doctor in England, (I obviously didn't read the blurb properly in my eagerness to grab another medical memoir!), but this provides a different backdrop as it is in the USA. This means a few different placements eg. Telluride-at a ski resort. I've read a few doctor memoirs now and here are some new scenarios I've not seen before. A good doc memoir. Looking forward to the next book.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! I love medical memoirs and journals and this was no exception, following his honest journey throughout med school was great and what made it even better was that I was laughing out loud throughout the book, and I enjoyed that fact that with most other books the future doc is never hurt or ill during his training, so reading how John was able to persevere is extremely inspiring! I love this book and I cannot wait for more :)


Blog link
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54650181-medical-school" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Medical School: Stumbling Through with Amnesia (Playing Doctor, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1595525429l/54650181._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54650181-medical-school">Medical School: Stumbling Through with Amnesia</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20551547.John_Lawrence">John Lawrence</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3470040831">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! I love medical memoirs and journals and this was no exception, following his honest journey throughout med school was great and what made it even better was that I was laughing out loud throughout the book, and I enjoyed that fact that with most other books the future doc is never hurt or ill during his training, so reading how John was able to persevere is extremely inspiring! I love this book and I cannot wait for more :)
<br/><br/>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/117986690-cherie-amponsah">View all my reviews</a>

Thoroughly enjoyed this inside look at the life of a med student, the highs and lows, the drama and stress, the gritty side of medicine. The writing was at times lyrical, entertaining and always captivating. The book is very fast-paced as Dr Lawrence rushes from one emergency to the next. He has to be calm, collected and always analytical as he evaluates the patients and he has to give his full attention to each one. A daunting task! Highly recommend. Looking forward to Part Two.

This book was interesting to read but also used a lot of medical terminology that made me have to concentrate an awful lot!
Set in the US, it’s a non fiction book that follows a student going through medical school and anecdotes that make it seem more personal and pulls the reader in
This book is well written if slightly confusing and it really highlights some of the issues and challenges that medical students face. I’m sure many people, not just med students, would resonate with the feeling that sometimes you feel out of your depth, not quite sure what to do and if you still want to do the job you are in
I enjoyed learning about the different specialties and how students learn as well as how the people around you can really impact on your experience. I will admit that some of the descriptions were quite graphic and not what I expected
I would recommend this book to those who are interested in medicine and who want to see behind the scenes in a hospital

This is a memoir of Dr. Lawrence's experiences in medical school, which he begins after suffering a traumatic brain injury. It's, insightful, honest, humorous--a great peek behind the scenes of preparation to be a doctor. I am eagerly awaiting volume 2!

A humorous look at medical school with a plethora of hilarious anecdotes you'll want to share with everyone else on public transport, whether they want to hear them or not.

thanks netgalley

surprisingly engaging. also apparently the creators of er did a lot of research because they seem to have gotten a lot right.

there were a lot of typos which were hopefully fixed from the arc i read.

lawrence's voice was strong & the organization was pretty clear. i also appreciate the author clarifying when he was kidding or being sarcastic because that can be hard to tell, especially in a memoir.

4/5

This book number one in which I believe the author is writing a three book series as a walk through the medical profession. You follow along as he makes his way through medical school a place you wonder how and why he was or is there. He took zero classes to prepare for medical school and went so far as to tell his career advisor in college that the last thing he wanted to be is a doctor. But obviously does not stick with this rational and applies and gets accepted to University of Utah. I had concerns of how graphic this would be as far as descriptions of procedures and surgeries but i think in this instance this book does not so if your squeamish you will be good. Each chapter covers a particular field he working in to gather experience to and be well rounded and also to help decide which field he will specialized in. There are bits of humor through out the book especially the chapter on obstetrics and also the story of the author getting bit by on a spider on his yoohoo. The one chapter that I was apprehensive about was concerning his time working in the burn unit but as i stated before this book is not really graphic, I did find interesting the story of the young lady and the antibiotics, I did not know something like this could happen. Overall this is a quick read and I look forward to the future books.

I'm relatively sure John Lawrence became a good doctor, but during his training, I'm glad I wasn't one of his patients. From what I know of doctors and the training they receive, this appears somewhat typical. Too many hours, too many patients, not enough sleep, and not enough supervision to ensure those who are training are fit to treat patients. I'm thankful for a look into reality. It was a gripping story with a lot of truth.

This was one of those books that i started reading and could not put down. So interesting to discover how the American medical school works and the stories in this just kept making me laugh and want to read on

I really enjoyed this book by accident prone (outside work!) doctor John Lawrence. A lot of humour and a lot of insight into the world of medical school (with added concussion). I’m looking forward to the next title.

This was a surprisingly fun read. It took us through the difficult and exhausting years of medical school. How students manage the study, the workload and the lack of money shows what dedication is needed. And although the author downplayed his attributes, he definitely proved he had that drive and dedication.

This was such a neat read. I’m not a doctor, but I love reading about other people’s jobs and this one was excellent. I loved hearing all of the juicy details!