The House of God : The Classic Novel of Life and Death in an American Hospital

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Summary: Interesting topic but poorly written
Review: This book gives you some sort of relief, if you work in the medical field (I'm a vet), because you can see, that you are not the only one terrified with the idea, that if you make a mistake or don't remember something, somebody is gonna die.
It gives you some inner peace, but on the other hand, it has a lot of sexual scenes, that are completely unnecessary and out of place, and gives the book a taste of low class porno book.
It also gives you the impression, that medicine is some sort of joke, that 95% of the treatments are useless and that your only escape from the "joke" is to become a psychiatrist, so you don't have to "touch" sick people anymore. It's just ridiculous!

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Summary: L-O-N-G
Review: Endless.... This book takes us inside a hospital, but its no fun. Long and boring, wait until there are ER books.

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Summary: To get under the hood of the medical profession, read this.
Review: This book is funny, horrible, emotional, twisted, and EMOTIVE. I give it two thumbs up.

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Summary: LAUGH WITH DOCTORS - EVEN IF YOU ARE A PATIENT
Review: Do you remember how you laugh when you saw M.A.S.H.? Prepare yourself to laugh more now. Samuel Shem, a psychiatrist, describes with no shame or censure, what's going on among young doctors in a busy hospital. You are going to cry and laugh with every single human feeling (of either doctors and patients): fear of death, faith and unfaith, love, shame, frustration, sex, arrogance, despair, power, everithing! As a physician, I saw myself in many of the situations described in this book. Maybe your not a doctor but you were, are or will be (someday) a patient! At least, for this single reason, you must read this extraordinary book. No matter what is your opinion about doctors and hospitals - you will change it, after that.

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Summary: doctors cope with their profession easier after reading it
Review: walk in the abyss of human decay. you must love people to endure the pain. be strong in heart and soul. you must enjoy life.

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Summary: This is the most proper concept of medicine I have ever read
Review: this book, written when I was a "novice RN" only "hit home" after many life experiences proved it to be accurate. It was funny, is funny now, and still very true. Leave it to a shrink to do it for "the rest of us". Look forward to the other works of "Shem's". E.Leach, RN Operating Room X 20 year

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Summary: FROM COMEDY TO UNDERSTANDING OVER A 30 YEAR CAREER
Review: I READ THIS BOOK SHORTLY AFTER DOING MY INTERNSHIP ACROSS TOWN FROM SHEM IN 1968. THE 10 RULES HAVE STUCK INDELIBLY IN MY THINKING OVER THE YEARS, AS HAS THE FACT THAT THE PAIN OF THAT YEAR LED SHEM INTO PSYCHIATRY AND AWAY FROM CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE. I OFTEN CITE THE BLACK HUMOR OF THIS BOOK TO STUDENTS AND HOUSE-OFFICERS WITH THE WARNING THAT THE DAY TO GET OUT OF MEDICINE IS THE DAY THE SUFFERING OF THE PATIENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES DOESN'T BOTHER YOU ANY MORE. UNDERSTAND THE HUMOR FOR WHAT IT IS...AN ATTEMPT TO DEAL WITH THE TRAGEDIES AND TRIUMPHS OF THIS PROFESSION WITH CONSISTENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS WHILE PROTECTING YOURSELF FROM THE BUFFETING THAT DESTROYS PERSONALITIES, FAMILIES, MARRIAGES AND CAREERS

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Summary: Ultimately, a very disturbing book.
Review: This proto-Kevorkian pseudo-expose ia a testament only to the size of the author's ego. Perhaps it is the umbrage of this ego, perhaps it is the immature development (on the part of the author) of a spiritual and intellectual perspective that approaches integrity, but this book fails fatally to recognize the power of both human compassion and of the human will to live. I am a lay person, but my father was in the hospital for eight months before he passed away; Dr. Shem would have seen him as a despicable (in his mind) "gomer". In direct contradiction to Dr. Shem's tale, my father was treated with compassion and respect by many saintly people (doctors, interns, nurses, nurses aides, orderlies) who also constantly reinforced his will to live. That display of compassion (from strangers) towards my father as well as my father's own indefatigable fight against invincible death will strengthen my character for the rest of my life. I will also most likely pass the attributes of compassion and the will-to-live to others. Somehow, Dr. Shem fails to apprehend the value of this type of scenario. As a novel, the sex is so frequent as to be exploitative. The textbook psychiatric explanation (solution ?) is simplistic. One saving grace is the recognition of love as salvation. For an example of a doctor's compassion in the face of overwhelmsion, read Camus's, The Plague; for an example of how compassion can save both giver and taker in the face of overwhelmsion, read Steinbeck's, The Grapes of Wrath, (focus on the last scene); for a paean on the will to live, read Dylan Thomas', Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.

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Summary: Outstanding Material for Paramedic Students
Review: As a paramedic instructor, I utilize "The House of God" to illustrate some real world aspects of the paramedic student's clinical experiences. The book's very realistic approach to the stresses experienced by the medical students also is applicable in the field of paramedicine. Next class, it will be required for my paramedic students

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Summary: Medical Cynicism At Its Best
Review: As an Intern in my first year of residency training, what Shem writes about is at times familiar, comfortable, and occasionally, outrageous. Although medicine has changed dramatically in the years between which Shem wrote this book, he touches a common thread which all physicians face during this pivotal time in their careers. Deep down, his story embodies the human struggle for acceptance and understanding in the complex field of medicine. On the other hand, the cynicism he presents should ask us to examine all physicians as what they truly are - fellow human beings - with all the foibles and fallacies that this condition entails