Didn’t Get Frazzled
David Z. Hirsch, M.D.
Contemporary/Medical
Medical student Seth Levine faces escalating stress and gallows humor as he struggles with the collapse of his romantic relationships and all preconceived notions of what it means to be a doctor. It doesn’t take long before he realizes not getting frazzled is the least of his problems.
Seth encounters a student so arrogant he boasts that he’ll eat any cadaver part he can’t name, an instructor so dedicated she tests the student’s ability to perform a gynecological exam on herself, and a woman so captivating that Seth will do whatever it takes to make her laugh, including regale her with a story about a diagnostic squabble over an erection.
Uncaged Review: I related to this book having worked in the medical field for over thirty years and many of those with interns and residents. The book takes you through the years of being a medical student via the escapades of Seth Levine. It is laced with humor and at times of heart wrenching decisions and lessons to be learned.
You will enter the life of Seth and his cohorts written in vignettes which follow the years he spent in medical school. It kept me reading, yet it is written so you can enjoy it in bits and spurts. The vignettes represented by each chapter enabled me to delve into the small slices of the life of a medical student.
I did find some of the connections disjointed and I felt like I was missing something between one chapter and the next in a couple of the places. Overall, it was easy to follow along as Seth worked toward becoming a MD.
Throughout the book, I became attached to the motley group of students Seth was friends with while understanding his uncertainty of what he wanted in the future. You go through the heartbreak of a relationship going sour and the recovery phase with a rebound romance. Following him through his rotations gives you a peek into how medical students evolve from students to doctors with increasing autonomy.
There are many “truths” throughout the book. He truly didn’t get frazzled as he learned those truths. My favorite was his stint on the psych ward. I’ll leave it for you to read but, I will say he had the correct evaluation of our society today. Reviewed by Barbara
4 1/2 Stars
