This funny, candid memoir about the author's intern year at a New York hospital provides a scorchingly frank look at how doctors are made, taking readers into the critical care unit to see one burgeoning physician's journey from ineptitude to competence.
Matt McCarthy is an assistant professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and an assistant attending physician at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. He has a degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale and a medical degree from Harvard. His work has appeared in Sports Illustrated, Slate, The New England Journal of Medicine, and Deadspin, where he writes the Medspin column. His first book, Odd Man Out, was a New York Times bestseller.
"A real delight...an entertaining window into an unknown
world."--USA Today "It's an account so engaging that I went from
swearing never to let an intern near me to understanding exactly
why the doctor-training process works the way it
does."--Entertainment Weekly "McCarthy gives readers a brutally
honest, often darkly comical glimpse into the formative days of his
medical career...an enthralling account of the metamorphosis of an
uncertain medical resident into a skilled physician."--Discover
"[This] rousing memoir describes [a] tumultuous year of medical
internship at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, a
12-month marathon noteworthy for a steep learning curve, emotional
extremes, and chronic sleep deprivation...A genuine glimpse at the
making of a doctor." --Booklist "This story is a year in the life
of an almost-doctor, but it is so much more than that. It's a book
about mentorship, compassion, pride, and the insecurity of learning
the most important lessons in your career--and in your life--long
after those lessons were supposed to be taught. It's about the
precarious and often unclear boundary between life and death, and
those tasked with maintaining this boundary, even at the end of a
thirty-hour shift. Perhaps above all, it's about decent people
doing a very hard, decent thing with their lives. Yes, doctors are
people too--and McCarthy tempers and then transcends the unease of
such a reminder by telling his story with much humor, and even more
heart." --Jeff Hobbs, author of The Short and Tragic Life of Robert
Peace
"Fascinating, funny and spot on. Like my own internship - only with
a laugh track. A must read for anyone who's going to be a doctor,
or just going to see one." --Lisa Sanders, MD, New York Times
Magazine's "Diagnosis" columnist and author of Every Patient Tells
A Story
"McCarthy's tale is by turns harrowing, hilarious, and uplifting.
Whether you're deciding if you should become a doctor, or merely if
you should go see one, this look beneath the hospital gown will
change your perspective for good." --David Epstein, author of The
Sports Gene "Thanks to Dr. Matt's column, I know why tennis players
grunt, and why five-finger shoes are for morons, and why I should
have gotten a vasectomy during March Madness. And thanks to this
book, I now know how he became the kind of doctor that I feel
comfortable going to with stupid drunken questions." --Drew Magary,
author of The Postmortal and Someone Could Get Hurt
"Hilarious, horrifying and ultimately inspiring, The Real Doctor
Will See You Shortly is a hallucinogenic trip through a doctor's
first year, filled with ill-fated pin pricks, misdiagnosis,
disappearing patients, life and, inevitably, death. Beautifully
written and impossible to put down, here is the unvarnished look at
how we create the flawed and ultimately heroic human beings who
save our lives--and sometimes don't." --Steve Fainaru, co-author of
League of Denial "Everything you did--or maybe didn't--want to know
about becoming a doctor. Matt McCarthy's tale of internship is
equal parts entertaining, cringeworthy, and inspiring." --Danielle
Ofri, MD, PhD, author of What Doctors Feel
"Matt McCarthy's new book, The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly, is
an honest, beautiful, and terrifying look at what goes into
creating a doctor. Filled with very human characters, both doctors
and patients alike, Matt's well paced writing makes it easy to
imagine yourself in the shoes of a brand new intern, nervous and
afraid, yet still tasked with literal life and death decisions. I
would recommend this book to anyone who knows or has been treated
by a doctor (so basically everyone)."--Chris Kluwe, author of
Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies "Well-written and brutally honest,
Dr. McCarthy's engrossing memoir of his internship year is told
with uncommon frankness and perception. The Real Doctor Will See
You Shortly is one of the most powerful books about a
doctor-in-training I have ever read. The author vividly describes
the crushing emotional and physical demands a young doctor must
face, and he does so with consummate skill and compassion. A
marvelous book." --Michael Collins, author of Blue Collar, Blue
Scrubs "I'm no doctor--but I am writer--and what I appreciated most
about Matt McCarthy's book is the humor and the humanity on every
page. Even if you don't know the spleen from the stomach, by the
end you will understand the sometimes frightening and sometimes
comic reality of a doctor's apprenticeship." --Jack McCallum,
author of Dream Team
"Insightful, fast-paced and achingly honest, Matt McCarthy's The
Real Doctor Will See You Shortly has all the elements of a great
story: a flawed hero with lively allies battling frequent,
seemingly insurmountable obstacles to reach a laudable goal -
becoming a good doctor." --Louise Aronson, author of A History of
the Present Illness
A real delight...an entertaining window into an unknown world. "USA
Today"
It's an account so engaging that I went from swearing never to let
an intern near me to understanding exactly why the doctor-training
process works the way it does. "Entertainment Weekly"
McCarthy gives readers a brutally honest, often darkly comical
glimpse into the formative days of his medical career...an
enthralling account of the metamorphosis of an uncertain medical
resident into a skilled physician. "Discover"
[This] rousing memoir describes [a] tumultuous year of medical
internship at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, a
12-month marathon noteworthy for a steep learning curve, emotional
extremes, and chronic sleep deprivation...A genuine glimpse at the
making of a doctor. "Booklist"
This story is a year in the life of an almost-doctor, but it is so
much more than that. It s a book about mentorship, compassion,
pride, and the insecurity of learning the most important lessons in
your career and in your life long after those lessons were supposed
to be taught. It s about the precarious and often unclear boundary
between life and death, and those tasked with maintaining this
boundary, even at the end of a thirty-hour shift.Perhaps above all,
it s about decent people doing a very hard, decent thing with their
lives. Yes, doctors are people too and McCarthy tempers and then
transcends the unease of such a reminder by telling his story with
much humor, and even more heart. Jeff Hobbs, author of "The Short
and Tragic Life of Robert Peace
"
"" Fascinating, funny and spot on. Like my own internship only with
a laugh track. A must read for anyone who s going to be a doctor,
or just going to see one. Lisa Sanders, MD, "New York Times
"Magazine s Diagnosis columnist and author of "Every Patient Tells
A Story"
""
McCarthy s tale is by turns harrowing, hilarious, and uplifting.
Whether you re deciding if you should become a doctor, or merely if
you should go see one, this look beneath the hospital gown will
change your perspective for good. David Epstein, author of "The
Sports Gene"
Thanks to Dr. Matt s column, I know why tennis players grunt, and
why five-finger shoes are for morons, and why I should have gotten
a vasectomy during March Madness. And thanks to this book, I now
know how he became the kind of doctor that I feel comfortable going
to with stupid drunken questions. Drew Magary, author of "The
Postmortal" and "Someone Could Get Hurt"
""
Hilarious, horrifying and ultimately inspiring, "The Real Doctor
Will See You Shortly" is a hallucinogenic trip through a doctor s
first year, filled with ill-fated pin pricks, misdiagnosis,
disappearing patients, life and, inevitably, death. Beautifully
written and impossible to put down, here is the unvarnished look at
how we create the flawed and ultimately heroic human beings who
save our lives and sometimes don t. Steve Fainaru, co-author of
"League of Denial"
Everything you did or maybe didn t want to know about becoming a
doctor. Matt McCarthy s tale of internship is equal parts
entertaining, cringeworthy, and inspiring. " "Danielle Ofri, MD,
PhD, author of "What Doctors Feel"
""
Matt McCarthy's new book, "The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly,"
is an honest, beautiful, and terrifying look at what goes into
creating a doctor. Filled with very human characters, both doctors
and patients alike, Matt's well paced writing makes it easy to
imagine yourself in the shoes of a brand new intern, nervous and
afraid, yet still tasked with literal life and death decisions. I
would recommend this book to anyone who knows or has been treated
by a doctor (so basically everyone). " "Chris Kluwe, author of
"Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies"
Well-written and brutally honest, Dr. McCarthy s engrossing memoir
of his internship year is told with uncommon frankness and
perception. "The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly" is one of the
most powerful books about a doctor-in-training I have ever read.
The author vividly describes the crushing emotional and physical
demands a young doctor must face, and he does so with consummate
skill and compassion. A marvelous book. Michael Collins, author of
"Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs"
I m no doctor but I am writer and what I appreciated most about
Matt McCarthy s book is the humor and the humanity on every page.
Even if you don't know the spleen from the stomach, by the end you
will understand the sometimes frightening and sometimes comic
reality of a doctor's apprenticeship. Jack McCallum, author of
"Dream Team
"
Insightful, fast-paced and achingly honest, Matt McCarthy s"The
Real Doctor Will See You Shortly" has all the elements of a great
story: a flawed hero with lively allies battling frequent,
seemingly insurmountable obstacles to reach a laudable goal -
becoming a good doctor. Louise Aronson, author of "A History of the
Present Illness"
"
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