Life After Medical School

Book excerpt: Wanting to provide an insider's view of the rewards and difficulties of a medical career, Dr. Leonard Laster (physician, researcher, teacher, and columnist) interviewed 32 physicians to learn how their careers developed. We encounter a cornucopia of commonalities that have directed their professional lives. One became a physician to homeless people, another the CEO of a major pharmaceutical corporation, another a family physician after overcoming the barriers of racial prejudice, another the Surgeon General, another a state governor, and yet another the editor of one of the world's most prestigious medical journals. Life After Medical School contains reflections by training program directors on which person fits which path. Dr. Laster wisely pays much attention to whether it is more rewarding to be a generalist or a specialist. The storytellers conjure truthful portraits of their personal and professional lives as generalists. This personal career guide is of special appeal to parents and mentors of young people considering a career in medicine, to premedical and medical students, to residents-in-training, and to midcareer physicians. The book is also a treat to general readers in search of a frank and sensitive account of the nature of professionalism in medicine and what it means to be a doctor in today's swiftly changing world.