Her Own Medicine: A Woman's Journey from Student to Doctor

by Sayantari DasGupta

Sayantani DasGupta, a young Indian American woman, entered medical school with a vision of saving lives and making the world a better place. What she found instead was a difficult path of politics, sexism, and red tape. Based on wry "field notes" she took throughout her journey in the healing profession, this enlightening story of learning to be a doctor will provoke tears, laughter, and thoughtful reflection. . . .

In these pages, DasGupta's trials and tribulations--and those of her patients--are vividly rendered. Whether it is a fourteen-year-old giving birth, a terrified AIDS patient, or elderly lovebirds with a less-than-ordinary sex problem, DasGupta illuminates the miracle of life and the struggle to sustain it. Yet she also shines a penetrating light on today's medical landscape--the militarism of medicine (where the patient is often the enemy), the gender wars, and the increasingly restrictive practice of managed care.

A remarkable account of medicine on the cusp of the twenty-first century, HER OWN MEDICINE is filled with wisdom and written with grace, lucid intellect, and a striking respect for life and the profession that heals it.

Genres: Medical

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 5, 1999

Reviews

[SouthWestZippy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very matter of fact writing. Has some very interesting stories about her internship. Could have done without the constant comparison to ER at the beginning of the book. Has some humorous parts and some heartbreaking parts.