Let’s Play Doctor audiobook

“How do I know if I’m smart enough to be a doctor? Well…uh… you bought this book, right? No offense, but that kinda answers the question.”I have never been roasted so hard by a book.That aside, I really enjoyed this! I will say, I think you can only fully appreciate this book if you are in the healthcare field, studying it, or aspiring to study it. The book continuously refers to the ‘reader’ as any average person not in the health profession, probably one who is reading this book on the toilet or in the car in between errands. While I have no doubt that that profile may fit many of those who read this book and will in the future, I must admit that if I was not in the health profession I don’t think I would ever be able to give a book like this above 2 stars. It falls into that strange genre between fiction and nonfiction that’s not really self-help, and I normally never pick up books like these as I generally view them as a waste of my time - The Book of Awesome, for example, comes to mind. However, due to my experiences and aspirations within the healthcare field I found this to be a well-executed book.This is a relatively short book, but even the shortest of books can be tedious. I liked how each chapter has its own ‘theme’ that varied greatly from the previous and next, so the book never seemed repetitive. I thought it was organized well, as it’s not easy to make a book like this that provides a limited variety and amount of content read well. I particularly enjoyed the reflections on having been a med school student that were interspersed throughout the story regardless of the chapter, which - once again- are better appreciated if you’ve been through some sort of health-related schooling yourself. I found myself relating to and laughing along with most of the experiences mentioned in this story as a result of my own. From the smell of formaldehyde, to being so nervous at checking your first patient that you forget how to put on a stethoscope properly, to the first catheterization experience… it’s all here and it’s all so nostalgic to reminisce about.I did not expect to read this book in order to become more prepared for med school and I did not complete it feeling that way - if those are your expectations, pick up an MCAT book instead. However, I was genuinely surprised at how well certain aspects of being an MD were occasionally described in this book! For example, using patient narratives to improve healthcare practice is a relatively recent trend that has enormously positive implications for the practice, and individualized care is something medical students and nursing students alike are taught to no end, and for good reason - it is extremely important. The following passage surprisingly summarized the importance of both:“Patients trust their doctors and enjoy sharing their stories with them. In the medical field, we are privileged to have unique access into people’s lives, but there are limits and you must try to anticipate and respect each individual patient’s threshold for privacy.”I really did not expect to see actual quality healthcare-related writing in this book, but there it was! The occurrences are by far outnumbered by silly jokes and random health-related trivia, which is no surprise, but it was still nice and unexpected to have passages like this at all. There was some good advice to be taken from this, amidst the laughs. Make no mistake, these authors do not take themselves seriously except for once in a while throughout the book when they’re not making a joke, but I’m not one to complain about a good time.I was also a big fan of the health trivia that was presented. There are some basics that can usefully be applied to many different contexts, such as the difference between dorsal and ventral. There were a lot of interesting facts I had never previously known as well, and I’ve taken my share of health and biology courses. In addition to teaching the readers some of the basic foundations and bizarre fun facts, there is also a lot of more specific yet applicable knowledge, like a fun mnemonic for the cranial nerves (‘An Old Olympus Towering Tops, A Fat-Ass German Viewed Some Hops’) and a very brief introduction to Henry Gray, the MD behind Gray’s Anatomy and the importance of his book.I will be keeping this book on my shelf to return to when I read a lighthearted read. Take it for what it’s worth, and you may be surprised.

What a fun way to look at medicineIf you want to become a doctor, then this is not the guide book to read. In fact, you should really go to a proper medical school and earn a medical license and stuff. If you want to read a book about medicine or life as a doctor, still, this is probably not the go-to book. But if you want to read about the funny side of medicine, now that’s what this book is for.This is the 3rd book in the series after “Why Do Men Have Nipples?” and “Why Do Men Fall Asleep After Sex?”. And this time around the authors, Mark Leyner and Dr. Billy Golberg, guide us through their own version of medical school from the beginning of the class until graduation (at the very last chapter).In between, they teach us a lot of things. Some are very useful but shouldn’t really be implemented without, you know, a legal license, such as the do-it-yourself step by step guidance from rhinoplasty to tracheostomy, hemorrhoidectomy, tonsillectomy, appendectomy, to root canal, leg amputation, lung-heart transplant, liver transplant, even sex change operation, embalming, breast enlargement, and removing a brain tumor.Some are applicable, such as the favourite food of geniuses from Mozart to Einstein, and the information/suggestion that “we tend to have orgasms with the right side of our brain. [So] start by reading a college algebra or trigonometry book while masturbating.” While others are information that I have absolutely no idea how to use, such as the presence of more than two testicles is called polyorchidism. Riiight.But don’t think that this book is all jokes and can’t get serious. Because the book is also filled with Q&A sessions with questions from real doctors, horror stories of malpractices, and testimonials from Dr. Billy’s most embarrassing moments as a doctor. Ok fine, they’re all bizarre and hilarious.Moreover, the book also covers what at first seem like unrelated matters with medicine, but you’ll be surprised. Matters such as the best magazines to be put in YOUR practice’s waiting room (it is after all a book that teaches you how to become a doctor), the fact that Mao never brushes his teeth and only gargle his mouth with tea, Aristotle Onassis upholstered the bar stool in his yacht with whale penis leather, and many stories like that one doctor who perform his own vasectomy (aided by his wife, which happens to be a nurse), and my favourite dude, that “employee of the month” guy who stapled his own scrotum after an accident and continued to work.Anyway, curious about the magazine list they suggest for YOUR practice’s waiting room? Here’s a snippet of them: Bite Me (about vampires), Prison Living Magazine (about, well, prison living), and D-cup (take a wild guess). And their mini explanation about why the magazines should be there, are just pure gold.

I've never read anything quite like this -- self-absorbed and self-congratualtory, but unique in that there is some genuine medical advice scattered within this juvenile text. Smart and goofy, like Mel Brooks on a page.