The Importance of Reading

Read. Read. Read! Reading skills and habits are among the most important for the premedical student.
Many student shortcomings relate to the quality and quantity of time spent on reading. He is what some
medical school interviewers expect: "During interviews, I always ask applicants to list the names of the
last ten books they have read and to comment on what they have learned from each of them. A book of
non-required reading every one to two months is reasonable to expect from a full time student" (an
interviewer at a medical school). "I have a list of 100 individuals who have made significant
contributions to humanity in recent years. I give out a name and ask the student who they are and what
is their contribution. I would not give a strong recommendation to a student who did not know the
contributions of at least 50% of the names." (an interviewer at another medical school). There is a good
correlation between the reading habits and attitudes of applicants and their scores on the verbal or
reading comprehension part of the MCAT. Unfortunately, you cannot cram in reading skills in a few
months of preparation for the MCAT.

Suggested Readings For Premedical Students

Full bibliographic information was not always available for the following listings, but enough
information is given for you to look up availability and cost on such web sites such as Barnes and
Noble (www.bn.com), Amazon.com (www.amazon.com), or the listed publisher. Several books are out-
of-print, but may be found in local libraries or through interlibrary loan. Always check to see if the
original "out of print hard copy edition" is now available in paperback form. Other books may be in the
personal libraries of your premedical advisor and you may be able to borrow from them.

I. ABSOLUTE MUST READ FOR ALL PREMEDICAL STUDENTS:

*Savett, Laurence A. 2002. The human side of medicine: learning what its like to be a patient and what
its like to be a physician, Auburn House, Westport, CT. Dr. Savett is a former physician who is now
a well-known premedical advisor. He shares his own life and his experiences in medicine and
academia. He is a strong advocate for humanistic medicine. His example points out that physicians
are human beings engaged in the care of other human beings. He employs case histories, quoting
individuals, posing questions, and providing opinions and answers that define the responsibilities of
physicians in their care of patients.

II. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BY PREMED ADVISORS, BUT NOT CATEGORIZED:

The following were still relatively available and in print as of June 2006.

*Alvord, Lori Arviso and Van Pelt, Elizabeth Cohen. 1999. The scalpel and the silver bear. Bantam
Books. (Hardback is out of print available as a paperback in 2003 see next)
*Alvord, Lori Arviso and Van Pelt, Elizabeth Cohen. 2000. The scalpel and the silver bear: the first
Navajo woman surgeon combines Western medicine and traditional healing, Bantam Books.
*American Association of Higher Education. Creating community-responsive physicians: concepts and
models for service learning in medical education. Seifer, S.D., K. Hermanns, K, Lewis, J., eds., (call
415-476-7081)
*Bickel, Janet W. 2000. Women in medicine: getting in, growing, and advancing, Vol. 4. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage Publications (still available in paperback at BN in 2003)
*Bursztajn, Harold, and others. 1990. Medical choices, medical changes. How patients, families, and
physicians can cope with uncertainty. Routledge. (Out of print?)
Suggested Reading List For Premedical Students at SMSU Page 2.

*Coles, Robert. 1989. The call of stories: teaching and moral imagination, Houghton Mifflin Co. Dr.
Coles, a psychiatrist, teaches Harvard undergraduates, medical students, and other graduate students
the lessons we learn from listening to each others stories.
*Fadiman, Anne. 1998. The spirit catches you and you fall down: a Hmong child, her American doctors,
and the collision of two cultures. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, Inc. An account of what happened when
immigrants for Southeast Asia with a sick child interacted (collided) with the U.S. medical system.
*Fox, S. and Fox, K. 2000. What can I saya guide to visiting friends and family who are ill. (A 40-
page booklet published by Adventures in Caring. The booklet can be ordered for $7.95 by calling
800-833-5678.
*Groopman, Jerome. 2000. Second Opinion: Stories of intuition and choice in the changing world of
medicine. Viking Press. A series of eight clinical dramas, each with humble lessons for the future
physician.
*Hashemi, Zia. 1995. Mastering medicine: the most current, concise, and comprehensive guide to medical
education in the 90s, A.R.C. Publishing, Raleigh, NC (copy many be borrowed from A. Gordon,
BMS)
*Kleinman, Arthur. 1990. The illness narratives: suffering, healing, and the human condition, Basic
Books. Stories of illness and their meaning to patients and families. Different ways in which
physicians deal with patients and change.
*Loudon, Irvine, Ed. 2001. Western medicine: an illustrated history. Oxford University Press, 392p.
*Magee, Mike, ed. 2003. Positive doctors in America, Spencer Books, Ltd., Canada. (Originally: The 50
most positive. In 2003 now available from Pfizer)
*Remen, Rachel Naomi. 1997. Kitchen table wisdom: stories that heal. Berkeley Publishing, 368p. Using
stories from her own practice, a physician who specializes in caring for patients with serious or
chronic illness reflects on what she has learned and how one can use those lessons in the therapeutic
relationship.
*Thomas, Lewis. 1995. The youngest science: notes of a medicine watcher. Viking Penguin.
*Verghese, Abraham. 1995. My own country: a doctors story of a town and its people in the age of
AIDS. Dr. Verghese is a physician specializing in infectious diseases. He writes of his experience
caring for patients with AIDS in eastern Tennessee, and also its impact on his personal life.
*Verghese, Abraham. 1998. The tennis partner: A doctors story of friendship and loss. Harper Collins
Publishers, NY. The story of the authors growing friendship with an Australian medical student.
Well reviewed.

III. TRAINING
*Becker, Howard S. and others. 1991. Boys in White: Student Culture in Medical School
*Duncan, David Ewing. Residents: The Perils and Promise of Educating Young Doctors
*Galanti, Geri-Ann. Caring for Patients from Different Cultures: Case Studies from American Hospitals
*Gershenow, R., Ed. The Education of the Osteopathic Physician
*Jones, Bob E. 1978. The difference a D.O. makes: Osteopathic medicine in the twentieth century
*Jones, Rosemary. 1998. Educational and Career Opportunities in Alternative Medicine. Pima
Publishing
*Klass, Perri. 1993. Baby Doctor
*Klass, Perri. 1988. A Not Entirely Benign Procedure
*Konner, Melvin. Becoming a Doctor: A Journey of Initiation in Medical School
*Lassey, Marie L., Lassey, William R. and Jinks, Martin , Health Care Systems Around the World:
Characteristics, Issues, Reforms
*LeBaron, Charles. Gentle Vengeance
*LeBaron, Charles. 1981. Gentle Vengeance, Richard Marek Pub., New York
*Lyden, F., Geiger, H., and Peterson, O. The Training of Good Physicians

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*Lyons, Dianne Boulerice. Planning Your Career In Alternative Medicine: A Guide to Degree and
Certificate Programs in Alternative Healthcare
*Marion, Robert. The Intern Blues
*Marion, Robert. 1991. Learning to Play God: The Coming of Age of a Young Doctor
*Purtilo, Ruth B. and Haddad, Amy. Health Professional and Patient Interaction, 5th Edition
*Rothman, Ellen Lerner. 1999. White Coat: Becoming a Doctor at Harvard Medical
*Schwitzer, Albert. Out of My Life and Thought
*Svahn, David and Kozak, Alan., Eds. 2002. Let me listen to your heart: Writings by medical students.
Basset Healthcare. The challenges, frustrations, and rewards that third year medical students discover
when they put aside their textbooks and learn to share intimate moments in their patients lives.

IV. PRACTICE
*Adams, Patch and Jacobs, Pamela. Housecalls How We Can All Heal The World One Visit at a Time
*Adams, Patch (with Maureen Mylander). Gesundheit (out of print check your libraries)
*Bickel, Janet. Women in Medicine: Getting in, Growing, and Advancing
*Breedlove, Charlene, Ed. Uncharted Lines: Poems from the Journal of the American Medical
Association (JAMA)
*Bruce Dan. 1988. A Piece of My Mind: A Collection of Essays from JAMA (Journal of the American
Medical Association)
*Carson, Ben. 1990. Gifted Hands, the Ben Carson Story
*Colgrove, Melba, Bloomfield,, Harold & McWilliams, Peter. How to Survive the Loss of a Love.
Insights into loss, for patients and those involved in their care. Written by a physician, psychologist,
and poet.
*Gerber, Lane. 1983. Married to their Careers: Career and Family Dilemmas in Doctors' Lives
*Hartman, David & Asbell, B. 1978. White Coat, White Cane: The Extraordinary Odyssey of a Blind
Physician
*Hilfiker, David. 1988. Healing the Wounds: A Physician Looks at his Work
*Lapierre, Dominique. Beyond Love
*Laster, Leonard. Life After Medical School, Thirty-two Doctors Describe How They Shaped Their
Medical Careers
*McPhee, John. 1988. Heirs of General Practice
*Nuland, Sherwin B. Doctors
*Nuland, Sherwin B. How We Die
*Nuland, Sherwin B. The Biography of Medicine
*Oz, Mehmet, and others. 1998. Healing from the Heart, The Power of Complementary Medicine
*Reynolds, Richard & Stone, John, Eds. On Doctoring: Stories, Poems, Essays
*Rosenberg, C. The Care of Strangers.
*Selzer, Richard 1982. Letters to a young doctor Harcourt Brace and Co.
*Savett, Laurence A. 2002. The human side of medicine: learning what its like to be a patient and what
its like to be a physician, Auburn House, Westport, CT (An author-signed copy may be borrowed
from A. Gordon, BMS)
*Skolnik, N.S. 1996. On the ledge: A doctors stories from the inner city. Faber and Faber 157 p.
*Spiro, Howard and others, Eds. 1993. Empathy and the Practice of Medicine, Beyond the Pill and
Scalpel
*Stone, John. 1992. In the Country of Hearts: Journeys in the Art of Medicine
*Williams, Carlos. 1984. The Doctor Stories
*Zazove, Philip. 1993.When the Phone Rings, My Bed Shakes: Memoirs of a Deaf Doctor

V. PATIENTS

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Suggested Reading List For Premedical Students at SMSU Page 4.

*Albom, Mitch. 1997. Tuesdays with Morrie; An old man, a young man, and lifes greatest lesson.
Random House. A story about how a person, his family and friends cope with a serious illness. The
writer recounts the final months of his college mentors life during which he dealt with amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrigs disease).
*Belli, Angela and Coulehan, Jack, Ed. Blood and Bone
*Broyard, Anatole. 1992. Intoxicated by My Illness. A personal account of illness written by the former
editor of the New York Times Book Review.
*Frank, Arthur. 1992. At the Will of the Body: Reflections on Illness
*Heymann, Jody. 1995. Equal Partners
*Hilfiker, David. 1994. Not all of us are Saints, Hill and Wang
*Kaysen, Susanna. 1993 Girl Interrupted
*Lacombe, Michael, Ed. On Being a Doctor (poems and essays)
*Lightman, Alan. 2000. The Diagnosis
*Lorde, Audre. 1980. The Cancer Journals
*McCrum, Robert. 1998. My Year Off, Recovering Life After a Stroke
*Miller, J. The Body in Question
*Muksan, Jon, Ed. Articulations
*Price, Reynolds. 1994. A Whole New Life
*Radner, Gilda .1990. It's Always Something
*Rosenbaum, Edward. 1998. A Taste of My Own Medicine (=The Doctor)
*Sacks, Oliver. 1984. A Leg to Stand On
*Stryon, William. 1990. Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness

VI. HOSPITALS
*Brody, Howard. Stories of Sickness
*Chekhov, Anton. Ward Six and Other Stories
*Crichton, Michael. 1989. Five Patients: The Hospital Explained,
*Dans, Peter E. 2000. Doctors in the Movies: Boil the Water and Just Say Aah Md-Ed Press,
Bloomington, IL
*Garrett, Susan. 1995. Taking Care of Our Own: A Year in the Life of a Small Hospital
*Gibbs, Harlan Gibbs and Ross, Alan Duncan. 1996. The Medicine of ER, or How We Almost Die, Basic
Books
*Sawicki, Stephen. 1997. Animal hospital

VII. TOUGH DECISIONS

*Belkin, Lisa. 1993. First Do No Harm
*Elders, Joycelyn. From Sharecropper's Daughter to Surgeon General of the USA

VIII. AGING
*Malcom, Andrew. 1992. Someday: The Story of a Mother and her Son
*Roth, Phillip. 1991. Patrimony: A True Story

IX. OTHER PERSPECTIVES

*Brody, Howard. 1988. Stories of Sickness
*Coles, Robert. 1993. A Robert Coles Omnibus
*Coles, Robert. 1994. The Call of Service: A Witness to Idealism Reprint
*Hawkins, Anne. 1993. Reconstructing Illness: Studies in Pathography
*Hunter, Kathryn. 1991. Doctor as Stories: The Narrative Structure of Medical Knowledge

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*Martin, Emily. 1987. The Woman in the Body: A Cultural Analysis of Reproduction
*Martin, Emily. 1994. Flexible Bodies: Tracking Immunity in American Culture from the Days of Polio
to the Age of AIDS
*Nesse, Randolph M. & Williams, George C. 1996. Why We Get Sick: The New Science of Darwinian
Medicine
*Sontag, Susan. 1991. Illness As Metaphor and AIDS and its Metaphors
*Weil, Andrew. 1988. Health and Healing

X. MEDICAL ETHICS
*Bandman, E. and Bandman, B., Eds. Bioethics and Human Rights
*Bosk, Charles L. Forgive and Remember: Managing Medical Failure
*Brody, H. Ethical Decisions in Medicine
*Gorovitz, Samuel. Doctors' Dilemmas
*Gorovitz, Samuel. 1991. Drawing The Line, Life, Death, and Ethical Choices in an American Hospital
*Nechas, Eileen and Foley, Denise. Unequal Treatment, What You Don't Know About How Women are
Treated by the Medical Community
*Pence, Gregory E. Classic Cases in Medical Ethics: Accounts of Cases that Have Shaped Medical
Ethics with Philosophical, Legal, and Historical Background
*Quill, Timothy E. 1994. Death and Dignity/ Norton, W.W. and Company. Dr. Quill, an internist,
discusses in depth the events leading to the death of one of his patients, the ethical issues involved,
and important aspects of the doctor-patient relationship. The case he discusses became the basis for a
United States Supreme Court case involving physician-assisted suicide.
*Salmon, J. Warren, Ed. The Corporate Transformation of Health Care: Perspectives and Implications
*Star, Paul. The Social Transformation of American Medicine

XI. HEALTH CARE ISSUES

*Castro, J. 1994. The American Way of Health.

*Bodenheimer, Grumbach. 1995. Understanding Health Policy: A clinical approach.
*Orient, J. Your Doctor Is Not In.
*Wekesser, C., Ed. 1994. Health Care in America.

XII. HISTORY
*Fister, Jeffrey. 1994. The Plaque Makers
*Gevitz, Norman. 1982. The D.O. as Osteopathic Medicine in America. This book provides a
comprehensive background for understanding the history of osteopathic medical education in the U.S.
to 1982.
*Gevitz, Norman. 1988. Other Healers: Unorthodox Medicine in America
*Haeger, K. History of Surgery
*Harvey, James. Young American Health Quackery: Collected Essays
*Loudon, Irvine, Ed. 1997, Western Medicine, An Illustrated History, Oxford Univ. Press
*Ludmerer, Kenneth. 1999. Time to heal: American medical education from the turn of the century to the
era of managed care. Oxford University Press. 514p. The development of medicine and medical
education in the U.S. Part III discusses the changes in medicine since the 1960s with the advent of
Medicare and Medicaid and Managed Care.
*Moore, Stuart. 1993. Chiropractic in American: The History of a Medical Alternative
*Rothman, Sheil. 1994. Living in the Shadow of Death: Tuberculosis and the Social Experience of
Illness in American History
*Starr, Paul. The Social Transformation of American Medicine

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*Young, Harvey. 1967. The Medical Messiahs, A Social History of Health Quackery in Twentieth-
Century America

XIII. ADMISSIONS AND GETTING IN

*Brown, Sanford J. 1985. You can get into medical school: letters from premeds, Mendocino Foundation
for Health Education (Free copies are available to SMSU premeds from A. Gordon, BMS, until the
stash is gone)
*Baffi-Dugan, Carol. Ed. 2001. Medical Professions Admission Guide: Strategy for success. National
Association of Advisors for the Health Professions. 5th Ed. Medicine is covered in Chapter 5. Dr.
Baffi-Dugan continues the earlier editions edited by Bruce Corder.
*Goldstein, Mark Allen and Goldstein, Myrna Chandler. 1996. Medical school admission, Font and
Center Press, Weston, MA
*Iserson, Kenneth V. 1997. Get into medical school: a guide for the perplexed, Galen Press, Ltd. Tucson,
AZ (available for borrowing from A. Gordon, BMS)
*Maguire, Mary Ann. 1999. PreMed: Who makes it and why? Teachers College Press, Columbia
University. Reviews on the usefulness of this book to current applicants were cool with respect to the
changes that have occurred recently.
*Tysinger, James. 1999. Resumes and personal statements for health professionals, 2nd ed. Tucson, AZ:
Galen Press, 210p.
*Zebala, John A, Jones, Daniel B., Jones Stephanie B. 2000. Medical school admissions: The insiders
guide. Mustang Publishing, 5th ed.

XIV. TEXTBOOKS RECOMMENDED FOR MCAT PREPARATION AND REVIEW:

These are just recommendations --- Other reference texts with similar detail and coverage are suitable. These
books may be too lengthy to read and study by themselves. It is advisable to use these texts to clarify and
provide more detail when reviewing the MCAT Study Guides.
Cell and Molecular Biology:
*Alberts et al. 2002. Cell and Molecular Biology 3rd ed or 4th ed. Garland Publishing, Inc. (continuous
updated versions available on-line).
Organismal Biology:
*Campbell, Neil A. and Reece, Jane B. 2002. Biology (5th ed. or 6th ed.)
Inorganic Chemistry:
*Purcell, Keith F. and Kotz, John C. An Introduction to Inorganic Chemistry (not currently in print)
*Brown, T.L., LeMay, H.E., Bursten, B.E. Chemistry: The central science. Prentice-Hall
*Bodner, G.M., Pardue, H.L. Chemistry: An experimental science. John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Physics:
*Young, Huge D. and others. 1999. Sears and Zemanskys. University Physics
*Cutnell, J.D., Johnson, K.W. Physics. John Wiley and Sons
Organic Chemistry:
*Solomons, Graham and Solomons, T.N. 1995. Organic Chemistry
*McMurry, J. Organic Chemistry. Brooks/Cole Publishing.

XV. IMPORTANT JOURNALS OF INTEREST TO PRE-MEDICAL STUDENTS AND

PHYSICIANS:
These help keep physicians and the student interested in medicine abreast of issues and developments in
medicine.

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Suggested Reading List For Premedical Students at SMSU Page 7.

*Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Highlights of each issue are found online at the
JAMA home page (http://jama.ama-assn.org/) The most widely read of all medical journals. Gives the
premedical student insight as to issues of concern to physicians and how physicians thing and feel.
*New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Online abstracts of the current articles in the NEJM are
available at their web site (content.nejm.org). Full text articles are available to subscribers. After 6
months, full text articles are available to all on line. The writing style in this medical journal should
be noted by the premedical student. Reading the topic reviews offers practice in preparing for the VR
section of the MCAT.

XVI. MCAT PREPARATION:

A number of books have been published over the years and there are a number of good web sites that provide
downloadable study materials using such search words as MCAT Preparation. With a little effort most of the
useful sites can be located. Many of the items listed below may be difficult to find because they are older and
out of print.
*ARCO MCAT Supercourse, Edited by Stefan Bosworth
*The Best Test Preparation for the MCAT, The Research and Education Association
*The Betz Guide: A Complete Preparation for the MCAT, Edited by Aftab Hussain
*Columbia Review: Intensive Preparation for the MCAT, by Stephen Bresnick
*Jump Start MCAT, by Amin, Bhusn and Le
*Kaplan MCAT, by Kaplan Test Prep.
*Princeton Review: Flowers and Silver MCAT, by Flowers and Silver
*MCAT Student Manual, by the AAMC
*MCAT Science Sampler, by Kaplan Test Prep. (Excerpts from MCAT Prep Course Review Notes-
various years.
*MCAT Practice Tests I, II, and III, by AAMC (downloadable from several web sites)
*Meeting the Challenge of the MCAT: A test preparation guide. By Jackson, Evelyn, McGlinn, Shirley,
and Herrold, Linda. 2002. A publication for students in the MEDPREP program at Southern Illinois
University. Can be purchased through NAAHP.

XVII. OTHER PREPARATION MATERIALS FOR APPLICANTS TO MEDICAL SCHOOL

*Jackson, Evelyn W. and Bardo, Harold R. Write For Success, by the National Association of Advisors
for the Health Professions.
*Kozoll, Charles E. Plan for Success: Time management for the pre-med student, by the National
Association of Advisors for the Health Professions.

Last updated: June 12, 2006 by ARG

Updated by A. Gordon, Biomedical Sciences Department, June 2006