The House of God by Samuel Shem

    The classic book on medical training and it affects interns.  This book introduces readers to buffing and turfing and other tricks that interns and residents use so that they can get some sleep.  A brilliant book.  It's also a sad and true commentary on medical education.  It's written by a brillant and funny physician.

Mount Misery by Samuel Shem

    I quit this book on page 105.  It shows flashes of brilliance like The House of God but there is too much boring material between the good stuff.  The character descriptions are sometimes great and the psychiatric information is often quite interesting, but Samuel Shem (Stephen Bergman, M.D.) did not pull off this follow-up to The House of God.  Only those going into psychiatry or those who are really interested in the topic are likely to get through this book.

The Intern Blues: The Private Ordeals of Three Young Doctors by Robert Marion, M.D.

    The author examines the lives of three interns and makes a great book out their incredibly dramatic experiences as interns.

Rotations: The 12 Months of Intern Life by Robert Marion, M.D.

    Rotations contains some incredible medical stories.  It's a follow-up to The Intern Blues and follows three more recent residents who make tape-recorded diaries of their internship year.  Tangentially, there is a lot to learn in this book about the Bell commission, which tried to limit the hours residents must work.  It all happened when Libby Zion died and her death was attributed to lack of sleep by the doctor on call.