Matt McCarthy's 'The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly': A Memoir of a Physician's First Year

gumby4yoga: I could not get into this book

United States on Oct 14, 2023

dawny224: I want to share to everyone how great this book is. The targeted audience is someone currently in the healthcare field, or about to enter it. There is a lot of medical jargon, however it is usually clarified within context. I would highly recommend this book to someone about to enter medical school or PA school. This book is a very candid view into a physician's first year, full of trials and tribulations. It has made me laugh out loud and surprise myself, and it has caused me to cry like a baby..this vast emotional range is how I rate the effectiveness of a story, whether it be a book or movie.
Not that the author reads these, but it's important to note the sensitive personal nature of some of his experiences, and I wish I could tell him how much I appreciate this, coming from a person just admitted to a highly competitive PA program. 5 stars!

United States on Apr 13, 2020

JS: Wonderful book. Loved it!!! As an ICU nurse, it talked to me from the beginning to the last word. I highly recommend it to anyone who has some understanding of the subject or wants to know what it is going on in the hospital medical field, respectively ICU mostly.
Thank you Matt, highly appreciated!!!

Canada on Aug 07, 2018

kindalyn: The medical theory leads a reader into the emotional learning of the experiences a doctor must go through I really enjoyed the book and consider it a good read

Canada on Nov 02, 2017

Kindle Customer: This book tells a vivid story of the intern learning to be a doctor. His honesty with his successes And failures was refreshing. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories about medicine.

Canada on Feb 05, 2017

Amazon Customer: As a current medical student, I found this book a really useful and fun read. Though I'm terrified of what lies ahead for me when I become a junior doctor, this book makes me feel like I can get through it. I know that everyone will feel uncertainty and fear and can sometimes break down, but Dr. McCarthy shows me this is all part of the journey.

He writes about his experience in a very down-to-earth and witty manner. He writes honestly about thoughts and feelings that I never thought a doctor would admit to. I could barely put it down for hours! It was easy to put myself in these characters' shoes and imagine what it must be like to feel like you don't know anything. I wanted to know what happened to each of the patients, just as if I were seeing these patients together with Dr. McCarthy.

Reading his observations and feelings makes me really excited to become a doctor and get to work with other such compassionate and intelligent people.

United States on Jan 15, 2017

Melodie Bennett: This memoir outlines the making of a physician. Dr. McCarthy gives the reader a walk in his shoes as he navigates his first year out of medical school. For the lay person and medical professional alike, it is very readable.
The medical jargon is explained without talking down to the reader. The situations he finds himself in are typical and yet extraordinary. After a needlestick, he is forced to confront himself and what kind of doctor he wants to be.He struggles with empathy and objectivity as he deals with patients and their families, all while chronically sleep deprived.
I enjoyed my look behind the curtain. No matter how far they go in their field, they all have to start somewhere. They all have to begin at the beginning and they do not come pre-programed for success.Med school, internships and residencies are brutal. Once through all that I can see how some doctors seek to insulate themselves and their emotions. I'm glad that Dr. McCarthy continues to put himself out there for his patients,his students and now his readers.

United States on Dec 07, 2016

BC Belle: This was enjoyable from start to finish. In marvellously readable style the author takes us for his first tenuous steps as a fledgling doctor through a harrowing yet ultimately satisfying year of medical training. The tone is light but the experiences are real and emotionally wrought. I feel it was a privilege to peer over the author's shoulder throughout.

Canada on Nov 29, 2016

Bernard M. Patten: What happens when a graduate of Harvard Medical School arrives at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital for his straight medicine internship and discovers he is woefully underprepared? They say you can tell a Harvard man, but you can’t tell him much. But Matt is a Harvard man and he doesn’t know much. He doesn’t know much about the practical aspects of drawing blood, putting down a nasogastric tube, or placing a central line. He is pretty close to useless in a cardiac arrest. And needs special guidance on how to decompress a tension pneumothorax. As a Columbia Medical School graduate I have had the suspicion that graduating from Harvard confers a handicap. This book proves that suspicion true. Matt McCarthy deserves credit for his honesty and perseverance and his clear telling about the real deal. And it is nice to see his character slowly develop into that of an excellent physician. We cheer him along the way as he discovers his ability to think beyond the science of medicine to the art of medicine. The patients discussed are interesting too including Dre with AIDS who doesn’t want to take her meds, the man who waits and waits and waits for a heart transplant, and the patient at...

United States on Jan 01, 2016

Alyson: Matt really is a warm inexperienced person, expressing insecurities we all feel - to do better and to be better. As he struggles to live with his mistakes, celebrate his victories and stay on track to care deeply about his patients, we follow him through a harrowing year of internship. I felt that he could have let us know about the outcome of the needle stick injury a bit sooner! And I fell for Benny too!

France on Apr 26, 2015