Intern is Sandeep Jauhar's story of his days and nights in residency at a busy hospital in New York City, a trial that led him to question our every assumption about medical care today. Residency—and especially the first year, called internship—is legendary for its brutality. Working eighty hours or more per week, most new doctors spend their first year asking themselves why they wanted to be doctors in the first place.
Jauhar's internship was even more harrowing than most: he switched from physics to medicine in order to follow a more humane calling—only to find that medicine put patients' concerns last. He struggled to find a place among squadrons of cocky residents and doctors. He challenged the practices of the internship in The New York Times, attracting the suspicions of the medical bureaucracy. Then, suddenly stricken, he became a patient himself—and came to see that today's high-tech, high-pressure medicine can be a humane science after all.
Now a thriving cardiologist, Jauhar has all the qualities you'd want in your own doctor: expertise, insight, a feel for the human factor, a sense of humor, and a keen awareness of the worries that we all have in common. His beautifully written memoir explains the inner workings of modern medicine with rare candor and insight.
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"One of the better medical autobiographies I've read...and it's no wonder, because the author actually wrote medical articles for the NY Times while completing his internship and residency at NY Presbyterian Hospital. It reads like a regular autobiography, with a big attention on Jauhar's personal life during his internship rather than the strictly medical aspects, which was nice because books like these don't usually have a strong balance. It's interesting and his stories are great, making the book read like a page-turner. Perfect for people with an interest in medicine, but also great if you just want to sit back and read about someone's life."
— Lauren (4 out of 5 stars)
Honest and vivid... A well-written medical memoir.
— Library JournalWhat sets Jauhar's internship story apart from the norm is his candor.
— BooklistJauhar's candid account of his stressful journey is enlightening, educational and eye-opening. After ten successful years in the profession, the author dolefully admits that he is unfazed by the 'small injustices' in hospitals today. Required reading for anyone seriously considering a career in medicine.
— Kirkus ReviewsFollowing in the path paved by doctor-writers like Lewis Thomas and Richard Selzer, Jauhar writes with grace, precision and passion. What makes him such a stimulating companion is his willingness to couple candid insights into the state of modern American medicine with equally revealing glimpses into the soul of a young doctor.
— Shelf AwarenessThis is no made-for-TV sitcom: Dr. House wouldn't last a night in Dr. Jauhar's world.
— San Diego Union-TribuneIntense.
— New YorkJauhar, like most of us, is neither a saint nor an apostle of medicine. He is a little sarcastic, a little bitter, a little naive, a little smarter, and a little stupider than everyone else; in short, the character he writes for himself is the perfect protagonist for a medical internship. As he flinches from the gauntlet run, the grace of his prose allows us to feel every blow. To this young physician, it brought back visceral feelings, and I hope this is not the last literary gut punch we receive from Jauhar.
— Noah Raizman, The Lancet ReviewHere Jauhar's skills as both storyteller and compassionate physician are at their best; his encounters illustrate the complexity of real-life clinical decision-making. ...The overall feeling that emerges is that of struggle: patients struggle against the illogical oddities of a broken health care system and less frequently they struggle against their clinicians, but most often they struggle along with their clinicians to reach an acceptable or at least meaningful compromise with the injustices that come with illness. Certainly there are no easy answers, and few writers have conveyed this truth more forcefully than Jauhar. ...Those who enjoy good writing for its own sake will savor the crafted texture of this narrative. ...Jauhar captures the essence of how it feels to be a present-day physician in residency training. ...So long as training to become a physician remains a dynamic process, memoirs like this will continue to serve an important role in exploring and explaining this process to the patients that physicians serve and, perhaps no less, to physicians themselves.
— S. Ryan Gregory, MD, The Journal of the American Medical AssociationAn exceptional accomplishment... beautifully written and incredibly insightful... by far the best memoir of medical student or resident days yet published.
— Kenneth Ludmerer, author of Learning to Heal: The Development of American Medical EducationThis insider's account of life on the ward forces us to contemplate our own mortality. And we emerge from it all with a greater respect for medical professionals and their patients.
— Peter McDermott, AmericaExcellent, well-written... Jauhar captures vividly the uncertainty, fear, and extreme exhaustion that dominates the (residency) experience... As one reads this emotionally powerful story, it becomes clear that the culture in which the interns work is profoundly important to their experience.
— Katharine Treadway, The New England Journal of MedicineIn this era when medical shows abound on TV, Jauhar demonstrates the power of the written word in the hands of a sensitive, thoughtful observer and an experienced, gifted writer. Intern is a compelling, accurate and heartfelt chronicle of what that year is really like. It will be the standard by which future such memoirs will be judged.
— Abraham Verghese, author of My Own Country and The Tennis PartnerIntern is not just a gripping tale of becoming a doctor. It's also a courageous critique, a saga of an immigrant family living (at times a little uneasily) the American dream, and even a love story. A great read and a valuable addition to the literature--and I use the word advisedly--of medical training.
— Melvin Konner, M.D. Ph.D., author of Becoming a DoctorTold of here is a time of travail and testing--a doctor's initiation into the trials of a demanding yet hauntingly affirming profession--all conveyed by a skilled, knowing writer whose words summon memories of his two great predecessors, Dr. Anton Chekhov and Dr. William Carlos Williams: a noble lineage to which this young doctor's mind, heart, and soul entitle him to belong.
— Robert ColesIntern will resonate not only with doctors, but with anyone who has struggled with the grand question: ‘what should I do with my life?' In a voice of profound honesty and intelligence, Sandeep Jauhar gives us an insider's look at the medical profession, and also a dramatic account of the psychological challenges of early adulthood.
— Akhil Sharma, author of An Obedient FatherVery few books can make you laugh and cry at the same time. This is one of them. Sandeep reveals himself in this book as he takes us on a wondrous journey through one of the most difficult years of his life. It is mandatory reading for anyone who has been even the slightest bit curious about how a doctor gets trained, and for physicians, it is a valuable record of our initiation.
— Sanjay Gupta, CNN medical correspondent and author of Chasing LifeA vivid portrait of the culture of a New York City hospital, with its demanding hierarchy and sometimes indifferent cruelty.
— Vincent Lam, The New York Times Book ReviewJauhar's stories are timeless [and] interesting.
— Barron H. Lerner, The Washington PostBrutally frank . . . The inside look at the workings of the medical internship system is fascinating.
— William Grimes, The New York Times“In Jauhar's wise memoir of his two-year ordeal of doubt and sleep deprivation at a New York hospital, he takes readers to the heart of every young physician's hardest test: to become a doctor yet remain a human being.
— Time" He tells some great stories of his internship and residency years, and has some very interesting insights into various fields of medicine. "
— Megan, 2/18/2014" This book doesn't have anything terribly great or terribly awful about it. I think this might be my most noncommittal review yet, and I'm sorry for that. I read through it in one sitting, so there is that going for it, but Dr. Jauhar seemed so far removed from his story. I guess that's understandable, seeing as it was written long after his intern year, but he describes things like meeting/dating/marrying his wife as though he was describing the mundane details of brushing his teeth. He's an excellent writer, but I couldn't find any passion in this book - for his wife or for his profession. He describes being ambivalent for the entire year, and that's exactly how I feel about this book. A decided meh. "
— Elizabeth, 2/17/2014" As far as I can tell a good description of life in the internship year. I found the author to be unlikeable, but the writing is good and it was fascinating. Finished it in a few days. "
— Tatiana, 12/6/2013" i actually haven't finished reading this book. i started reading tweak instead .. so i guess this review is to be continued. "
— Kathleen, 11/30/2013" This book details the trials and frustrations of an ambivalent doctor as he takes on the first two years of residency in internal medicine. "
— Heidi, 11/26/2013" I cried twice within the first 100pp. Recommended for anyone in health care or research, any patients interested in the provider side of American health care, or anyone who has experienced personal frustration and existential angst. Really sensitive yet spare writing. "
— Allisonv, 10/22/2013" Very interesting inside look at the grueling process of becoming a doctor. Makes me happy I didn't marry one! "
— Karen, 10/4/2013" Interesting look at the world of medical internships and residencies. I'm now more frightened than ever to go to the hospital and be treated by some of these people. "
— Tiffany, 5/23/2013" I hate to give up on a book, but I just couldn't get into this one... So I am putting it back on the bookshelf. "
— Life, 4/7/2013" It's no House of God. "
— Rob, 1/30/2013" This one is just OK. Much better books of this genre exist. See my books for more examples. "
— William, 10/13/2012" Should be read by anyone - will scare you more than hell ;). "
— Leila, 12/31/2010" a true story, and looking past all of the medical jargon that I didn't always understand, it was an interesting story, especially for grey's fans who might want to know what it's really like to be an intern at the hospital. "
— Kerry, 11/21/2010" Mostly gripping account of medical residency in NYC. As hard as residency is, it's sometimes hard to relate to an author who grapples with his "struggles" as a joint PhD-MD. "
— Elizabetta, 11/6/2010" Along with Perri Klass's "A Not Entirely Benign Procedure", this is on the short list of the best medical memoirs I've read. Sandeep Jauhar isn't just a great physician-writer; he's a great writer, period. "
— Jack, 10/11/2010" Very interesting book of an ambivalent med student and his first year in a big hospital in a city full of interesting stories and people. "
— Laura, 8/27/2009" Fascinating read into an over-achiever's mindset trying to live up to his family's expectations while trying to find his own place on this planet. "
— Par, 3/17/2009" A brutally honest account of post-graduate medical training. There was a bit more than I wanted about the author's personal life and situation; I felt myself getting a bit impatient, wanting him to be more decisive. But his questioning is part of his larger point, and central to his honesty. "
— NG, 11/26/2008Sandeep Jauhar is the bestselling author of several acclaimed books, including Intern, Doctored, and Heart: A History, which was a finalist for the 2019 Wellcome Book Prize; was named a best book of 2018 by the London Mail on Sunday, Science Friday, and the Los Angeles Public Library; and was a PBS NewsHour/New York Times book club pick. A practicing physician, he writes writes regularly for the opinion section of the New York Times. His TED Talk on the emotional heart was one of the ten most-watched TED Talks of 2019.