required reading for U.S healthcare workers
these are books that i think are imperative for a compassionate, empathetic, understanding, proactive healthcare workforce cause they won’t teach you this in school. please suggest more you think should be here!!
created by yayatheflower
last updated May, 2026
Comments
I can't wait to make my way through this list. I also recommend The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. And I just finished My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor about what it was like to have, and recover from a stroke.
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande is really impactful re: death, dying and compassionate consideration of what people need towards the end of their lives.
(Edit: Also definitely bookmarking this for some educational reads when I’m in the right space for some growth and development!!)
oh my gosh i literally JUST marked this a few days ago on my interested list 😅😅 thank you sm !!
oooh i love this!! thank you for this list 🙂↕️
of course!! happy to do my part :)
good luck on your premed journey!! i'm a PA student myself and i still have lots to learn 🙇♀️
thank you thank you :) good luck to you too !!
I don't know what happened to you for you to make this list. I know what happened to me to make me click on it and scroll the entire thing. I hope whatever it was, you got the help you needed and deserved. And if you haven't, I'll say the only things that matter: I believe you and you deserve better ❤️
oh this is so kind thank you so much :(( i was more so inspired by the gaps i saw between what we're taught about patients on the provider/technician side and what patients actually experience but i have had more than a few bad experiences with providers myself that inspired me to try to do better by patients :c
You're a blessing to your patients, you unicorn of a human being. Thank you for existing!
I’d suggest The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, this book shows why understanding patients’ stories and cultures is just as vital as knowing their symptoms. And as a graduate student in a medical school, I really like this list! Hope everything’s going well with your pre-med classes.
thank you dear, you too !! and noted, adding expeditiously !! :)
Some great titles here, thank you for putting this together!!
happy to help !! :)
haven't picked it up yet but blindspot: hidden biases of good people by mahzarin banaji was recommended in a CME course!
just added !! thank you 🫶
This is a public service - genius!
aww shucks just doing my part ig 😅😅 thank youuuu
