Book Synopsis White Coat is Dr. Ellen Lerner Rothmans vivid account of her four years at Harvard Medical School. Describing the grueling hours and emotional hurdles she underwent to earn the degree of M.D., Dr. Rothman tells the story of one womans transformation from a terrified first-year medical studen into a confident, competent doctor. Touching on the most relevant issues in medicine today--such as HMOs, aIDS, and assisted suicide--Dr. Rothman recounts her despair and exhilaration as a medical student, from the stress of exams to th hard-won rewards that came from treating patients. The anecdotes in White Coat are funny, heartbreaking, and at times horrifying. Each chapter taes us deeper into Dr. Rothmans medical school experience, illuminating her struggle to walk the line between too much and not enough intimacy with her patients. For readers of Perri Klass and Richard Selzer, Dr. Rothman looks candidly at medicine and presents an unvarnished perspective on a subject that matters to us all. White Coat opens the infamously closed door between patient and doctor in a book that will change the way we look at our medical establishment. In White Coat, Ellen Rothman offers a vivid account of her four years at one of the best medical schools in the country, and opens the infamously closed door between patient and doctor. Touching on todays most important medical issues -- such as HMOs, AIDS, and assisted suicide -- the author navigates her way through despair, exhilaration, and a lot of exhaustion in Harvards classrooms and Bostons hospitals to earn the indisputable title to which we entrust our lives. With a thoughtful, candid voice, Rothman writes about a wide range of experiences -- from a dream about holding the hand of a cadaver she had dissected to the acute embarrassment she felt when asking patients about their sexual histories. She shares her horror at treating a patient with a flesh-eating skin infection, the anxiety of being pimped by doctors for information (when doctors quiz students on anatomy and medicine), as well as the ultimate reward of making the transformation and of earning a doctors white coat. For readers of Perri Klass, Richard Selzer, and the millions of fans of ER , White Coat is a fascinating account of one womans journey through school and into the high-stakes drama of the medical world. In White Coat, Ellen Rothman offers a vivid account of her four years at one of the best medical schools in the country, and opens the infamously closed door between patient and doctor. Touching on todays most important medical issues -- such as HMOs, AIDS, and assisted suicide -- the author navigates her way through despair, exhilaration, and a lot of exhaustion in Harvards classrooms and Bostons hospitals to earn the indisputable title to which we entrust our lives. With a thoughtful, candid voice, Rothman writes about a wide range of experiences -- from a dream about holding the hand of a cadaver she had dissected to the acute embarrassment she felt when asking patients about their sexual histories. She shares her horror at treating a patient with a flesh-eating skin infection, the anxiety of being pimped by doctors for information (when doctors quiz students on anatomy and medicine), as well as the ultimate reward of making the transformation and of earning a doctors white coat. For readers of Perri Klass, Richard Selzer, and the millions of fans of ER , White Coat is a fascinating account of one womans journey through school and into the high-stakes drama of the medical world. Review Quotes A medical students thoughtful and revealing chronicle of growing into the white coat of a doctor . . . told with clarity, candor, and grace.--Kirkus Reviews Rothman, whose interest in medical ethics led her to medical school, possesses a journalists eye for detail and makes engrossing reading of even the most mundane tasks associated with medical training. She also lets us follow her romance with a fellow student, adding another dimension to this unflinching look at the healing profession.--Chicago Tribune