Review of "The Devil Wears Scrubs"

Comedic novel by Freida McFadden

Introduction

It is not often that I came across such a funny book on medical fiction and such a lovable protagonist. At first glance, this is like any other women's fiction novel with a voicy main character who is bullied by multiple parties and so gaining a lot of sympathy from the readers. On deeper reading, the story engages because it narrates the all too real hierarchy in the hospital and the things that a medical intern has to put up with. On top of that, the themes of the book are about very serious issues, including social problems such as chronic illness and their impact on people.

Characters

The interesting cast of characters in this book include:

Jane McGill (protagonist): Fresh medical intern at County Hospital (convinced by mother that medicine is a stable job, so ended up quarter of a million in debt)

Alyssa Morgan: Snotty senior resident, "drill sergeant" who turns out to be a mother

Ryan Reilly: Surgical resident (love interest) who lied that his father is a lawyer and has a secret (spoiler: that is revealed in the climactic moment)

Julia: 'Difficult' Roommate (international medical graduate)

Connie Lim: Medical intern aiming for dermatology residency

Nina Castellano: Medical intern who plays a sidekick, best friend type of role to Jane, and has a cat with diabetes.

Attendings (faculty): Dr Westin

Memorable patient: Alex Chandler (drug addict), Mrs Jefferson, who died of a pneumothorax when the medical team was going to send her home. Her husband didn't want her to suffer anymore, putting a stop to her resuscitation.

Other interns, briefly mentioned, include Dave, etc.

The Plot

New interns at any hospital form the lowest rung of doctors and the on calls (overnight stints) are notoriously long and difficult to cope with. Because the first few calls are often traumatic, Jane's first two on-calls take up 50% of the book.

"On the way to the lounge, I get a page and my stomach sinks. As part of my overnight call, I'm cross-covering the whole hospital. That means that if there's any problem with any patient in the hospital, I'm the gal who's supposed to solve it. It's kind of cool. And by 'cool,' I obviously mean it's completely terrifying and I want to curl up in a corner and hide under a big pile of coats."

"...there's a huge difference between having knowledge and feeling comfortable using that knowledge on actual human beings who could die if you do the wrong thing."

Despite the grit and hardship, Jane has a never-say-die attitude, and she copes remarkably well. In fact she sees the humour in many of the situations she faced.

The writing is also hilarious and to give just one example of a comedic episode:

After getting a fecal specimen on her gloved finger, Jane realized she didn't have the test card called the guaiac card. She went to the hallway to look for it with her index finger stuck up in the air. Can you beat that?

Most writers know that it is unnecessary to give proper names to passing characters. Here, I like the stand-in labels for Ryan's friends: "Southern Apple" and "Creepy Moustache".

As a physician, I do appreciate that the writing is realistic. The kinds of patients we hate are well-portrayed in the story. Some of these patients include those who fail to pin point a specific problem, even though they may not mean to be vague. Some patients just love to talk, even though what they want to talk about don't seem to help in their care.

Even in her dreams, Jane has issues with working up the patients. "The patient has pain and I ask where the pain is. Everywhere, the patient tells me. I ask him to be more specific. Everywhere in my body, he clarifies."

Themes

I mentioned earlier that the story raised serious themes.

One of the serious issues raised: Should we test ourselves for incurable genetic diseases, if one is not getting married or have children?

Summary

This is another fresh attempt at medical fiction that is not a thriller or a conventional romance. It is realistic and for contrast, please read other medical fiction mentioned in my other blogs, "The House of God" by Samuel Shem, "The Big Free" by Martha Boone, and "This is going to hurt" by Adam Kay. There are some similarities and differences in these stories, but I think they are all entertaining in their own way. What do you think? Let me know below.

What are you waiting for? This this, and the next book on Jane McGill.