'Intern Blues' by Robert Marion, M.D.

The public's glimpse of a doctor’s life varies depending on the doctor. Popular TV shows like “Grey’s Anatomy”, “New Amsterdam”, and “Private Practice” allow keen viewers to follow the romanticised lives of doctors, from their heroic moments to the romances and tragedies that take place in their hospital shifts. Similarly, social media platforms have been filled with doctors and medical students glamourising their experience with hashtags and filters, focusing on the positive but hardly ever commenting on their negative experiences. Additionally, flashy news articles celebrate a doctor’s innovative and ground-breaking methods and attempts to save a lucky patient’s life. In particular, doctors were placed in the spotlight during the COVID-19 pandemic, being seen as the real-life superheroes of the pandemic.

On the other hand, in 2023, the televised NHS doctors’ protests presented the struggles and  hardships endured by the professionals. Furthermore, a report by the General Medical Council  in 2022 found that 50% of doctors were unhappy in their workplace. Simply put, the public’s  perspective towards medicine and a doctor’s life will differ depending on their source and  possibly their personal experiences. Therefore, how can one understand the world through the  eyes of a doctor without studying and working within the profession? 

This question may never have a perfect answer, but the book Intern Blues by Robert Marion  could be considered a step in the right direction. This book explores the life of three first-year  interns (Amy, Adam, and Mark) in New York paediatric hospitals during the mid-1980s. After  meeting his new interns and learning about the fear and outsider syndrome they felt toward the  coming year, Dr. Robert Marion encouraged them to document their experiences during their year as interns to reflect and possibly learn through their achievements and struggles.  Unknowingly, Dr Marion’s advice created the concept behind this inspiring book. The book  explains treatment methods, their reasoning, and the medical abbreviations, making any reader  feel like a doctor. This is emphasised by the vividly descriptive writing and the constant log of  emotions, allowing anyone to experience the vibrant rush of a hospital from the comfort of  their home. 

One of the best things about this book is each intern’s contrasting perspectives on such  supposedly similar experiences. The first intern, Andy Baron, explored his struggles of living  far from his family and girlfriend due to his awkward working hours and his feelings that his  loved ones do not understand what he is going through. On the other hand, Amy Horowitz has  an intriguing perspective of being a mother of a young child, presenting to the reader the  struggles with viewing her own child in her patients' eyes and how she surpassed this challenge  to succeed in her work. In contrast, Mark Greenberg has an interesting and almost humoristic negative perspective towards his experience – one should note that, at times, some of his entries  are quite shocking with their abruptness and pessimistic view. 

On the other hand, one of the few limitations to note in this book would be the timing. Having taken place in the 1980s, the reader should note that some elements have changed and evolved  over the years. However, one could argue that this difference in 40 years gives a uniqueness to  the book as it allows for a comparison and reflection on how medicine has changed. For  instance, there is a brief exploration of the struggle that Amy faced as a doctor: struggles that in some way stem from how being a woman made others view her differently from her male colleagues. Although these same struggles may not apply to female doctors in the present, the Amys of 2024 encounter their own challenges. Moreover, the book provides an interesting  reflection on how the HIV pandemic changed medicine and forced the medical community to adapt – which, for many readers, can resonate with the recent COVID-19 pandemic. 

Intern Blues is an entertaining read that will make its readers want to hug their siblings and  appreciate their lives differently. This book will elicit laughs, tears, and moments of profound  contemplation - a rollercoaster of emotions filled to the brim with intriguing medical cases. Presenting the hardships these three doctors faced, one has the opportunity to reflect and decide  for themselves: does the good outweigh the bad? What causes the balance to tip? Is a doctor’s  life made for them? Nevertheless, one conclusion is constant: the newfound admiration for the healthcare community. 

Check out this book on Amazon

Written by Inês Couto André

REFERENCES

Marion R. The Intern Blues: The Timeless Classic about the Making of a Doctor.  Reprint edition. William Marrow & Company; 2001. 

General Medical Council. The State of Medical Education and Practice in the UK,  Workplace Experiences 2023 [Internet]. General Medical Council. 2023 June.  Available from: gmc-uk.org/stateofmed.