A Not Entirely Benign Procedure: Four Years as a Medical Student

by Perri Klass

Book Overview

"Fascinating... Klass writes with wit, intelligence, and a great deal of insight."--The New York Times Book Review

Acclaimed pediatrician, journalist, and novelist Perri Klass offers a provocative look at the ups and downs of medical school from those first exams to the day she became a doctor. In a direct, candid style, Klass shares what it is like to be a first-time mother while attending med school; the unique lingo of the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0452272580
• ISBN13: 9780452272583
• Release Date: July 1994
• Publisher: Plume Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

A not entirely malignant procedure

This is the story of a grumpy, exhausted, scared stiff medical student who also happens to be a great writer. I've read many medical autobiographies by physicians such as Frank T. Vertosick, Michael Baden, Robert S. Desowitz, and William A. Nolen, but none that have terrified me as much as "A Not Entirely Benign Procedure." Perri Klass received her MD from Harvard in 1986, and is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, where her subspecialty is Pediatric Infectious Diseases. She is also an extensively published writer. "A Not Entirely Benign Procedure" was written deep within the bowels of medical school by a new initiate into the arcane, bloody, sometimes agonizing rituals of late 20th-century medicine. Perri Klass had a bit more to deal with than the average medical student, when she learned she was pregnant on the afternoon of her first anatomy exam. The author was the first to admit she was no superwoman: "I was a totally frazzled, frequently irritable, chronically sleep-deprived case, depending for my survival on the support and patience of others..." One of her fantasies was to crawl into one of the hospital beds, slip an IV into her arm, and be taken care of like a patient. Sleep. Wake up to take a sleeping pill. Sleep. If nothing else this book talked me out of the deep-seated fantasy that I should have gone to medical school---not with an absolute need for eight hours of sleep every night. I'll stick to watching "Trauma--Life in the ER" and reading books like this one. I also vow that the next time I'm in a hospital and a white-coated, badged, stethoscoped person approaches me with a needle in hand, I'm going to ask, "Have you ever performed this procedure before?" Thanks, Dr. Klass. I'm trying not to be a gomer (Get Out of My Emergency Room), and I'm definitely not CTD (Circling The Drain), but if it really takes some medical students seven punctures to complete a spinal tap, then I'd rather have someone with a bit more experience perform the procedure on me.

Fascinating book

A fascinating well-written book, which will be of interest to anyone who has experience of hospitals and medicine, whether as professional or patient.

Perfect for Pre-Meds

I am a biology major/ pre-med student at UCLA, though it is through my English class that I found this book. Simply put, this novel made me think. I continuously wondered, "can i handle 'dog dissection'... will I be able to memorize all of the countless facts about all these rare diseases?" An entire section of the book is devoted to bioethical issues, including one essay entitled, "DNR," (do not resuscitate). I began questioning myself, "is it fair to bring someone back just so that they can suffer longer with the same disease?" If you plan on going to medical school, reading this book is a must, and a joy; it is perfect for pre-meds.

This book was easy and fun to read as well as educational.

As a student entering medical school in August, I found this book to be informative while maintaining the feel of a novel. The author does a wonderful job at describing some of the hardships a medical student faces including course overload, moral dilemmas, and the maintenance of personal relationships. For those not in the medical profession, I think this book gives the reader an accurate insight into how doctors become doctors.

A great book - interesting and informative

I want to be a pediatrician, so I read this book to have a better understanding of what it takes to go through Medical School. This book gave me a very good idea of what Medical students are put through. The stories are funny, interesting and truthful. I recommend it to anyone who's thinking about a future in medicine.