These are not the telegenic, slickly scrubbed docs of Grey's Anatomy
. But Eule's account of three female interns offers a far more compelling portrait of the unique transition from tentative student to skilled M.D. The transformation begins on the third Thursday of March 2006 for Stephanie Chao, Michele LaFonda and Rakhi Barkowski with the computerized program that matches newly minted doctors with teaching hospitals, fascinating in itself, and then long hours, perplexing cases and demanding senior residents and attending physicians who mold the young doctors into confident and compassionate practitioners. What's remarkable about the account is Eule's perspective as Stephanie's longtime boyfriend and a clear-eyed journalist. Each of the women explores her passion for medicine and discovers its place in the life she hopes to live. But the lessons the women learn from their patients are striking: “The people in the end who were comfortable with death, the ones who were ready to go, were the people who talked about a good family life.” This is a traditional medical coming-of-age that pleasantly surprises with its reach far beyond the hospital walls. (Mar. 3)
