A nice addition to the Bloomsbury object series and I really enjoyed reading the different stories it had to offer

I enjoyed ‘Doctor’ and it was an easy read with interesting anecdotes. The narrative was engaging. The book didn’t particularly standout from the other medical biographies I’ve read previously, although I did enjoy his insights and perspectives on how medicine is evolving. All in all ‘Doctor’ was an enjoyable read and I would recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for a free reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

Object Lessons is my favorite new series. Every one of them that I've read has been awesome, and I'm definitely looking forward to reading more!

Doctor is the third book I've read in the Object Lesson series published by Bloomsbury Academic. "Filled with fascinating details and conveyed in sharp, accessible prose, the books make the everyday world come to life."....at least that's what they are supposed to do.

I would have liked more history and facts like other books in the series, and less of the doctors 3 generations insights. Andrew Bomback is a highly specialized doctor, married to a doctor, and son of a doctor. This book looks at some of the changes in the past generation in a conversational way. The chapter on doctor jokes seemed lame to me. He discusses his child's allergy issues at length and solutions they tried, like visiting dairy farms. Bomback attempts to speak Spanish with his first born so she is bi-lingual. (Mom speaks Spanish.) Half-way through I made a note that the daughter's Spanglish speech was getting way 'too cutesy.' Bomback writes about what a wonderful pediatrician Andrew's dad-doctor was, but now he should be retiring. Nice to have a personal touch, but not what I thought the book would be about.

Bomback writes, " For me, doctoring is a job; for my father, doctoring is a calling. Being a doctor is his (dad's) lifestyle, his personality.....I've become comfortable being the modern version of a doctor, hyper-specialized, paid with insurance and Medicare dollars. Just doing my job."

I want more from my doctors. Why would you spend all that time and money to "just do a job." C'mon, live your life with some passion.... and publisher, pick someone more excited to write about the important art/ science of being a Doctor.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Bloomsbury Academic and Netgalley for this ARC.

I am on a bit of a Medical reading run at the moment and this book enhanced this experience.
I enjoyed reading about Dr Bomback, his familial experience within the medical field, personal anecdotes and frustrations within the field.
I highly recommend this book, especially if you love learning more about the profession.

They’re very variable, the books in the Object Lessons series, and this one didn’t really work for me. The author reflects on being a doctor, the evolving style of doctoring and how there have been so many changes in what is expected from doctors. He compares his own career with his father’s, and explores how doctors cope when faced with illness in their own families. It’s more of a collection of anecdotes and personal reminiscences rather than a sustained narrative, and I would have enjoyed a more objective exploration of what it means to be a doctor. Nevertheless, it’s a reasonably interesting read, if a little self-indulgent.

Part of the Bloomsbury Object Lessons series, this is a wide-ranging look at what it’s like to be a doctor. Bomback, a kidney specialist, is by no means the only medical professional in his family: his wife is also a doctor, and his father, fast approaching retirement, is the kind of old-fashioned, reassuring pediatrician who knows everything. Even the author’s young daughter likes playing with a stethoscope and deciding what’s wrong with her dolls. In a sense, then, Bomback uses fragments of family memoir to compare the past, present and likely future of medicine. He also documents his personal run-ins with healthcare: temporary infertility, being in the delivery room for his two children, and trying to get a handle on his son’s allergies.

The short chapters range from doctor jokes and work–life balance to the dangers of self-diagnosis and over-communication with patients – many doctors now give out a mobile phone number so patients can text them at any hour. The most poignant aspect of the book for me was the way his father is being pushed out of his beloved career, mostly by technology and new working methods that involve more admin and less face-to-face time with patients. I’m not convinced the book is generic or representative enough (especially outside the U.S. context) to be a part of this series, though, and it does at times feel like bits of disparate material bunched together

Doctor by Andrew Bomback is a wonderful read for anyone who wants a deeper look into the life of a doctor. As the wife of a doctor, I was excited to pick up this book and see how it compares to reality. I found this book to be honest and refreshing. It is a great read for doctors and their patients, too. This book examines the complexities in practicing medicine-- the difficulty of applying knowledge to unique individuals in specific situations. Nothing is perfectly clear. And everything can change constantly. I loved this book! Pick it up-- it will change the way you see doctors forever. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher. These opinions are entirely my own.

It is hard to believe that such a great book about how the changes to modern medicine affect a doctor's day to day life came about because the author's three year old asked him what it was like to be a doctor and he didn't have an answer. I loved how honest the author was about the limitations he has in regards to assisting patients. This was very informative and a great read!

This little book blew me away. I wasn't sure what I went in expecting - probably something light, something twee, a skim across the surface of the medical profession, and a tidy, wholesome, bland conclusion. Instead, I got the best nonfiction I've read in years. Dr Bomback makes it look easy - he moves between memoir, biography, journalistic survey, and cultural comment effortlessly - and over the course of these couple hundred pages he takes readers not just over but through the state of modern medicine both generally and personally. His perspectives as a doctor himself are balanced by his experiences as the parent of small children, effectively turning the doctor into a patient, and by his perspective on his father's own medical practice. He turns the medical profession inside-out, diagnosing its weaknesses and highlighting its strengths, and it's a joy to read. His tone is approachable but knowledgeable, wise and wise-cracking, witty but capable of turning on a dime into profound sincerity. This book was a delight. Wow.

A fascinating and candid first-person look into the world of hospital medicine. Dr. Andrew Bomback gives a clear-eyed view of his life as a kidney specialist and a family man. Very interesting reading.

Reading this became a bit of a slog for me. I was interested in the topic given that I work in healthcare, but it didn't feel like it lived to the description that it would set straight what the doctor's role in medicine really is. I was also thrown off by the Spanish: it felt unnecessary to the book to have these untranslated discussions. It was more of an autobiography than anything to learn from.

This book gave me the opportunity to see a doctor's view on health and patients. As I have so many health issues this was fascinating to read, especially when he stated his view on 'plan for the worst, hope for the best'. This was what I had been doing at that point in time as I approached a neck operation.
I enjoyed the book and felt thankful for getting this doctor's point of view which in many ways was so similar to my own.
I was given this book by NetGalley and the publisher. This is my voluntary and impartial review.

I read an advanced reading copy from Bloomsbury Academic via NetGalley. Thanks!

I have read a number of “a day in the life of” type books, including many that focus on medical professions. In general, they are comprised of a series of stories about cases or situations that the author has experienced, and give the reader a bit of insight into some of the more interesting situations that the author has faced. As a child I devoured all of James Herriot’s books, and they still remain a shining example of this genre to me.

That was what I was expecting from this little book, but what I read was quite different, and I enjoyed it. Although this book is definitely full of insight into a physicians daily experiences, it is more focused on how medicine has changed with the advent of electronic record keeping, how the author feels about his particular role in the lives of his patients, his struggles knowing how to communicate bad news to his patients, and how difficult it can be to cope with a health crisis in your family, even when you are a practicing physician yourself.

This is a much richer and more personal insight into what “a day in the life” is like for this particular physician, and I appreciated his willingness to share with his readers.

An interesting look at the changes in what it means to be a doctor through the lens of a doctor, who has the multiple identities of being son/husband/sibling to doctors.

The Dr. Bomback to whom the author frequently referred was not himself nor his orthopedist brother, but rather their pediatrician father who is struggling with the practice of medicine in the 21st century, yet manages to use his iPhone as a heart rate monitor. Of particular interest to me was how the author and his wife struggled as parents and doctors in the world of medicine as it related to their children, especially their youngest who had some medical issues. They opted not to see the author's father - but one of the younger partners in his father's practice, a decision the son/author seemed to struggle with especially when some patients sought him out on the heels of his father's reputation.

An interesting subplot was the author and his wife's decision to raise bilingual children (Spanish/English) and how the author struggled to communicate not only with his SPanish speaking patients, but sometimes his own three year old daughter.

Not exactly what I expected from this book, but a very good read.

A collection of loosely assembled anecdotes, only approximately half of which hit the defined parameters. Bomback raises a number of important points; these points would be a fine jumping-off point for a more worthy text, but he leaves them suspended where they bubble up. I'm certainly not opposed to the integration of the personal into the sociocultural critique, but this was not so much a variation on the classic personal-is-political as simply mired in the mundane. I have not yet encountered Bomback's writing previously, but by his own admission, much of the work appeared previously in publication elsewhere; I wonder, then, if it was the process of patching together the piecemeal narrative that engendered this lack of success. Ultimately, these are forgivable sins: the writing just wasn't sublime enough to make you disregard its drawbacks.

With thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Academic for an advanced reader’s copy.

DOCTOR is a book where I expected more than it delivered. Yes, I got insights on a doctor’s fears, and learned what they may think of “doctor” jokes, but all in all I felt that there was too much about his family to truly make it a book about a physician. I got the impression that he didn’t enjoy being a doctor at all, and that he was living in the shadow of his father, who was extremely well respected in the field.
The Spanglish conversations with his daughter detracted from the pace of the book, and I can imagine those unable to understand the words becoming frustrated. (Spoiler: don’t worry, you didn’t miss anything integral to the plot.) I also felt disconcerted as the author jumped from story to story; sometimes they tied in with one another, sometimes the transition was harsh.
The plot seemed to be about the personal life of a man who happened to be a doctor, not truly all about what it is that a doctor does. If the author could make up his mind and concentrate on one or the other, I feel the book could have been more meaningful. Perhaps a different title would have steered a potential reader in the right direction as well. In any case, it wasn’t the worst book I ever read in this genre – but far from the best. I think if it was any lengthier it would have been a rare DNF for me.
Interested in checking it out for yourself? You can pick up it on Amazon.

I thoroughly enjoyed this inside look at the life of a doctor and the stresses and strains of modern medicine. Besides being "healers," modern doctors have to deal with financial interests, insurance companies, Big Pharma and more. The author contrast his own life with that of his father, an "old school" doctor, and the comparison is quite interesting. Both men are devoted to their patients. The author is not only a doctor, but is married to a doctor and I'm glad he introduced some elements of his home life into the book. A wonderful, compelling read that I would highly recommend

This book isn't really what I was expecting but it was an interesting read.I found it particularly fascinating to view the patient experience from a different side.

This is one of the best "medical memoir/essays" I have read in recent years.  As a patient with a chronic illness, I've encountered many doctors in my years and have always been fascinated with books on the occupation.  This book is different than most in this genre, in that Andrew Bomback is an incredibly accessible writer.  He writes in an easy and conversational tone that makes you want to keep reading.  Additionally, I loved this book because Bomback is honest about his profession and the inner workings of his self-doubt.  He doesn't aggrandize the profession, like other books I've read, and he really nails down what it means to be a doctor in this era.

"I constantly remind myself that I'm not a hero. There's a limit to what I can accomplish in a single day, in a week, a month, a year." - Andrew Bomback, Doctor

Bomback was spurred to write this book in response to a situation when his 3-year old daughter asked him about his job and he could not come up with a succinct and accurate description.  As a result, this books discusses the misconceptions we have from media about the profession and attempts to unravel the many facets of a doctor's role, while also including personal stories along the way.  Bomback shares his aging father's (also a doctor) struggle with the increase in medical technology demands, his infant son's health issues, his views on why doctors love "doctor jokes" and the lost art of the physical exam among other things.

This books was a fairly quick read, did not have an abundance of medical terminology and changed my perspective on what it's like to be a doctor and parent (hint: it doesn't always mean the parent is never around,  as is often portrayed).

The one thing that stopped me from giving this book 5/5 was the confusion I felt when conversations with the author's young daughter written in a mix of Spanish and English.  As a non-Spanish speaker, these sentences confused me and I felt I lost a lot of the meaning in those important conversations and revelations of a 3-year-old.  The author discusses how they are raising their children bilingually (his wife, Xenia, is a native Spanish speaker) which is great, but non-Spanish speakers really missed out when the conversations were portrayed in Spanish without translation.

The cover is gorgeous and really caught my eye (although after reading, I find it funny that the doctor on the cover has his stethoscope draped over the neck, despite the author discussing how very few doctors actually wear their stethoscope in this manner). Overall, I loved this book and I recommend it to anyone looking for an accurate, easy to understand insight into what it means to be a doctor.

"Patients walk beneath a banner proclaiming my hospital's slogan - 'Amazing Things Are Happening Here' - each time they visit my office. Often, as they're leaving the office, I offer my own version of a tagline: 'We'll plan for the worst and hope for the best.'" - Andrew Bomback, Doctor