The Best Books and Resources for PA & Pre-health Students

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss

As a pre-health student, one of the best habits you can develop toward your future career is the habit of reading.  As the new year begins, Winter break it’s a good time to get a head start on your reading and checking out resources that will help you on the road ahead.

Here, our HealthCareer CERTS team — and health professionals — offer recommendations for good reads and resources you’ll love on your journey through pre-health studies. Many of these books have helped shape students’ perspectives on their career in the healthcare field. They promise to  give you a deeper glimpse into the practice of medicine. Enjoy these resources as you jump-start your 2024 health career journey — or curl up with one of these books and spend some much-needed downtime this winter break.

1. What Doctors Feel: How Emotions Affect the Practice of Medicine— by Danielle Ofri, MD, This book is top of the reading musts recommended by the American Association of Medical Colleges. Dr. Ofri, an internist, explores the doctor-patient relationship and the role emotions play in patient care.
2. The Physician Assistant Student’s Guide to the Clinical Year: Internal Medicine – by David Knechtel & Deborah Opacic. Written by experienced PA educators, this guide details the clinical approach to common presentations such as chest pain, dyspnea, fever and an insider’s look at a PA’s clinical life
3. How Doctors Think, By Jerome Groopman, MD is recommended by the American Medical Association. Groopman explores the forces and influences behind a doctor’s thought process and exposes how such processes can lead a physician to err, despite best efforts.
4. When Breath Becomes Air , by Paul Kalanithi is recommended by the National Library of Medicine. At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. And just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined evaporated. When Breath Becomes Airchronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a naïve medical student who must confront his own mortality.
5. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot is highly recommended by Good Reads. Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her enslaved ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine.
6. Tap into Health Education Resources. Your healthcare career journey is not an easy one. That’s why we’re here to help. HealthCareerCERTS offers free and online resources from program materials, enrollment assistance, advisor consults, program support and job search assistance.
7. Prep for the MCAT with Practice Exam. Download a free MCAT Study Resources, full MCAT Practice Exams. Get our list

For more resources for your pre-health and medical journey, please contact us at HealthCareer Certs.