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On Doctoring: Stories, Poems, Essays
Few subjects hold more universal appeal than that of medicine, and surely few books have evoked medicine's drama and magic more powerfully than On Doctoring. In its many forms, from age-old ritual to the cutting edge of modern science, medicine concerns us all. It is a human profession, practiced by people who have dedicated their lives not only to science but also to humanity. In the words of the great physician-writer Sir William Osler, "The physician needs a clear head and a kind heart; his work is arduous and complex, requiring the exercise of the very highest faculties of the mind, while constantly appealing to the emotions and higher feelings." It is the humanity in medicine that has inspired the pens of countless writers, and that has now been captured in this remarkable anthology of medical literature. This newly expanded edition of On Doctoring is an extraordinary collection of stories, poems, and essays written by physicians and non-physicians alike -- works that eloquently record what it is like to be sick, to be cured, to lose, or to triumph. Drawing on the full spectrum of human emotions, the editors have included selections from such important and diverse writers as Anton Chekhov, W. H. Auden, William Carlos Williams, John Keats, John Donne, Robert Coles, Pablo Neruda, Ernest Hemingway, Raymond Carver, Alice Walker, Kurt Vonnegut, and Abraham Verghese. Among the new authors included in this edition are Rainer Maria Rilke, Lisel Mueller, and May Sarton. In this era of managed healthcare, when medicine is becoming more institutionalized and impersonal, this book recaptures the breadth and the wonder of the medical profession. Presenting the issues, concerns, and challenges facing doctors and patients alike, On Doctoring is at once illuminating and provocative, a compelling record of the human spirit.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2001
37 people are currently reading
493 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 7, 2008
I'm particularly enjoying this. Because of it's nature, as a collection of smaller works, it's a great book for me to read when I need a break from my studies, and it helps to remind me about the things that made me interested in medicine in the first place: the people I'll be serving. Some of my favorite authors and poets are included.
May 2, 2021
I greatly enjoyed this collection of poetry, short stories, and literary narratives on the practice of medicine. It contains works or excerpts of many physician writers, like Chekov and W. Somerset Maugham, along with works by acclaimed authors like Mary Oliver and Margaret Atwood on the topic of medicine. This is one that I’ll certainly revisit in the future!
May 31, 2022
This amazingly composed collection of essays, poems, and short stories has stunned me from the first pages I flipped through and continued to enlighten me to the end of the book. I randomly picked On Doctoring off the shelf while at the library. Within minutes, I realized it was not a regular novel with long chapters and one story line. Instead, it was a compilation of very insightful writings from physicians and literary authors.
On Doctoring, compiled by Richard Reynolds M.D. and John Stone M.D. was published in 1991 and has since become an internationally famous classic, especially for students in med school. A copy is given free to each first-year medical student all over the world. The themes of the writings in this novel center around the literature that exists in medicine. 180 pieces of writings feature 81 different authors–each divulging a meaningful lesson regarding humanity and medicine. There is a combination of physicians and writers included, some including Emily Dickinson, Maya Angelou, Ernest Hemmingway, Carola Eisenberg, and Robert Frost. Although the writings are universal, a good majority of them specifically focus on the experience of becoming a physician. The humanitarian side of a profession that is usually so professionalized and desensitized is magnified. The reader is forced to come to terms with the rawness involved in the life of a physician. The book opens up with Carola Eisenberg, Harvard Medical School’s dean of student affairs, and her observations of the stigma around the medical profession. This story sets the foundation for the book by going into detail about why professions in the medical field and the med school system are timelessly honorable. That the work of doctors will always be so gratifying and internally fulfilling. Eisenberg also goes on to state the mandatory responsibility physicians have to build up future physicians (medical students) because it is necessary for them as well as for the well-being of the public. Building them up entails the relevance of literature in a physician’s daily life.
The biggest goal of this book is to make physicians understand how literature is actually one of the biggest pillars in medicine and it is important for doctors to read the narratives of patients, and accounts from other physicians and other writers. For doctors to better understand their profession, they should maintain a strong knowledge of literature. Because of the close relationship doctors are able to have with the human race, they get to experience “humans in their rawest form” (Hemingway 160). Personal narratives in this teach the reader how beautiful this relationship is and that it is very appreciated. In later chapters, Ernest Hemingway speaks that in his medical career, writing and reading were a part of his daily routine. He states that all doctors must be incredibly active readers as well as learners. Physician Sir William Osler goes as far as to say that “to study the phenomena of disease without books is to sail an uncharted sea while to study books without patients is not to go to sea at all” (Aphorisms 32). By this, he means that the practice of medicine is ineffective without books and the reading of books is ineffective without an active practice of it (medicine). Supporting this claim are dozens of poems and short stories that continue expanding upon the intertwinement of literature and medicine.
The wide range of authors in this series impressed me as it demonstrated the beliefs that have existed for years among different people. There are essays from the 1600s and 2010s. World-class authors and local doctors. Unfortunately, there is a lack of representation as the majority of these authors are white male physicians and narratives from ethnic physicians were necessary. But this also shows the lack of diversity in the medical field – less than 1% of doctors are ethnic women and less than half of physicians are ethnic men. Considering the experience of an ethnic physician is very different, hopefully, a new edition is soon released that includes writings from more women and people of different backgrounds.
To be completely honest, I could not stop thinking about this book when I was reading it. Every single chapter was a new story with a new lesson. I was repeatedly provided an inside look into the intimate life of a physician and each writing illuminated a side of medicine I had never been introduced to before. I was never really interested in going into the medical field until about a year ago when I started realizing how fun biology could be and that the procedures are very cool. Up until this book, I had no idea about the heart, soul, and mind that come with the job of a physician. Although the book does cover the patient and doctor relationship, I believe the major target audience is medical school students. This book does the best job of showing them the literature that will profoundly teach them about the profession they have chosen to do.
On Doctoring, compiled by Richard Reynolds M.D. and John Stone M.D. was published in 1991 and has since become an internationally famous classic, especially for students in med school. A copy is given free to each first-year medical student all over the world. The themes of the writings in this novel center around the literature that exists in medicine. 180 pieces of writings feature 81 different authors–each divulging a meaningful lesson regarding humanity and medicine. There is a combination of physicians and writers included, some including Emily Dickinson, Maya Angelou, Ernest Hemmingway, Carola Eisenberg, and Robert Frost. Although the writings are universal, a good majority of them specifically focus on the experience of becoming a physician. The humanitarian side of a profession that is usually so professionalized and desensitized is magnified. The reader is forced to come to terms with the rawness involved in the life of a physician. The book opens up with Carola Eisenberg, Harvard Medical School’s dean of student affairs, and her observations of the stigma around the medical profession. This story sets the foundation for the book by going into detail about why professions in the medical field and the med school system are timelessly honorable. That the work of doctors will always be so gratifying and internally fulfilling. Eisenberg also goes on to state the mandatory responsibility physicians have to build up future physicians (medical students) because it is necessary for them as well as for the well-being of the public. Building them up entails the relevance of literature in a physician’s daily life.
The biggest goal of this book is to make physicians understand how literature is actually one of the biggest pillars in medicine and it is important for doctors to read the narratives of patients, and accounts from other physicians and other writers. For doctors to better understand their profession, they should maintain a strong knowledge of literature. Because of the close relationship doctors are able to have with the human race, they get to experience “humans in their rawest form” (Hemingway 160). Personal narratives in this teach the reader how beautiful this relationship is and that it is very appreciated. In later chapters, Ernest Hemingway speaks that in his medical career, writing and reading were a part of his daily routine. He states that all doctors must be incredibly active readers as well as learners. Physician Sir William Osler goes as far as to say that “to study the phenomena of disease without books is to sail an uncharted sea while to study books without patients is not to go to sea at all” (Aphorisms 32). By this, he means that the practice of medicine is ineffective without books and the reading of books is ineffective without an active practice of it (medicine). Supporting this claim are dozens of poems and short stories that continue expanding upon the intertwinement of literature and medicine.
The wide range of authors in this series impressed me as it demonstrated the beliefs that have existed for years among different people. There are essays from the 1600s and 2010s. World-class authors and local doctors. Unfortunately, there is a lack of representation as the majority of these authors are white male physicians and narratives from ethnic physicians were necessary. But this also shows the lack of diversity in the medical field – less than 1% of doctors are ethnic women and less than half of physicians are ethnic men. Considering the experience of an ethnic physician is very different, hopefully, a new edition is soon released that includes writings from more women and people of different backgrounds.
To be completely honest, I could not stop thinking about this book when I was reading it. Every single chapter was a new story with a new lesson. I was repeatedly provided an inside look into the intimate life of a physician and each writing illuminated a side of medicine I had never been introduced to before. I was never really interested in going into the medical field until about a year ago when I started realizing how fun biology could be and that the procedures are very cool. Up until this book, I had no idea about the heart, soul, and mind that come with the job of a physician. Although the book does cover the patient and doctor relationship, I believe the major target audience is medical school students. This book does the best job of showing them the literature that will profoundly teach them about the profession they have chosen to do.
May 3, 2020
Would it be pretentious to keep this close throughout my career? Probably. Will I do so anyway? Probably.
July 13, 2023
Some homespun, a la' All Creatures Great and Small. Most [L]iterary. More than not about death and dying, not joy. Despite cover, I don't remember any young children. Adequate back matter.
I do appreciate the inclusion of 'Wanting to Die' by May Sarton. And 'The Last Decision' by Maya Angelou. And Jenny Joseph's 'Warning' (When I am an old woman I shall wear purple....).
I am going to try to read more by Sarton and by the co-editor, John Stone.
I do appreciate the inclusion of 'Wanting to Die' by May Sarton. And 'The Last Decision' by Maya Angelou. And Jenny Joseph's 'Warning' (When I am an old woman I shall wear purple....).
I am going to try to read more by Sarton and by the co-editor, John Stone.
July 13, 2023
Most of the poems and essays focused on death/dying and unpleasant aspects of the practice of medicine. No doubt these are common issues for physicians but I think it would have been good to have included more uplifting stories from the practice of medicine which clearly outnumber the unpleasant elements of day to day practice.
August 12, 2017
Vonnegut's short story was very timely. The Girl With The Pimply Face and Use of Force by Williams were also noteworthy.
Death was viewed in many form in both poetry and prose as either a welcome friend or as an enemy. All in the perspective of t narrator.
Death was viewed in many form in both poetry and prose as either a welcome friend or as an enemy. All in the perspective of t narrator.
December 10, 2020
Excellent primer. Great examples of classic fiction and nonfiction on patients' experiences, as well as the doctors', but the book is intended primarily for the latter, to remind them of empathy and the nature of their jobs.
March 8, 2021
A very different kind of book. A collection of stories related to medicine or commentaries on medicine and the medical field, many of which are written by doctors, surgeons or others in the practice. Many of the poems are about illnesses and their affect on the human condition.
July 17, 2020
Medical humanities, medical humanity.
For the past 30 years this book has been given in all American medical schools to every aspiring doctor.
For the past 30 years this book has been given in all American medical schools to every aspiring doctor.
August 16, 2022
Wish it had more stories/poems/essays from actual doctors rather than patients or writers
June 19, 2025
was handed this by a dr while shadowing
March 10, 2024
Excellent collection of written works (as noted in title) authored by both doctors and non-physicians, all of which detail the human condition of illness and medical treatment, either as the treating provider or as the patient. Due to the nature of the collection, it need not be read in chronological order and each section can be read individually. Great body of work which can be enjoyed in stages, especially as nighttime reading. Would probably be best enjoyed by those within the medical profession but it does carry universal appeal.
April 12, 2008
Inspirationals stories and poetry. Particularly inspiring for medical students, but the focus on the beauty and fragility of human life should make it of interest to any and all readers. I highly recommend it.
October 22, 2010
A collection of poems, short stories, and nonfiction experiences with sickness, death, and medicine. I really enjoy reading about how others deal with medical problems and how they perceive their doctors and nurses.
August 14, 2010
Remember, even Jorge Luis Borges saw beautiful things through his blindness. We're blessed he lived to write about it too.
June 15, 2011
Assigned coursework.
December 28, 2010
I had so much fun reading this book out loud with friends over a few weeks. It inspired me to write poetry too.
March 17, 2015
Worth Purchasing.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews