I have a thoughtful advisee who told me about an interesting plan she made for herself: As she rotated through different specialties during medical school, she read a book appropriate to each field. For internal medicine, she read “Being Mortal,” by Atul Gawande. For neruology, she read the classic “The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat,” by Oliver Sacks. For surgery, she read “When Breath Becomes Air,” a beautiful book by Paul Kalanithi. The list goes on.

I was impressed by this contemplative approach to third and fourth year. So many of us are understandably focused on Shelf Exams and letters of recommendation that we don’t give ourselves a chance to comprehensively reflect on our subject matter and patients’ experiences.

If you have a moment, please check out a few book recommendations I have for those in the medical field. Perhaps my advisee’s stellar plan can be one that other medical students adopt.