A Woman in Residence

by Michelle Harrison

"This true story--based on diaries Dr. Michelle Harrison kept throughout her months of residency in OB/GYN--draws us into the serious and thrilling work of delivering new life into the world...and into Dr. Harrison's own struggle to reconcile the often startling difference between patient care and hospital convenience. She writes about her patients, for whom she never had quite enough time; about her colleagues, with whom she did not always agree; about the excitement of learning new procedures; about the pressures that never let up. She brings us as close as most of us are likely to come to the intense inner life of a big hospital."

Genres: Medical, Nonfiction, Memoir, Medicine, Biography, Feminism

285 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was absolutely amazing. It is the autobiography of a woman who went through OBGYN residency having already had a child herself and having already attended many home births as a family practice trained physician.

She went into her OBGYN residency with a hope that the formal OBGYN training would expand her practice knowledge and abilities. However, between her prior experience with and support for home birth practices and precepts, and between being a single mother and having many difficulties securing child care for a residency that leaves her in the hospital for days on end sometimes, she finds the road emotionally difficult. She writes very frankly about the challenges and struggles she faces along the way, and includes many, many patient care encounters that are raw, real, and gripping.

Of course it is known that there can be malignant personalities in medicine. And of course it will always be challenging to find common ground between home birth circles and OBGYN circles. But the writer is so down to earth and so hopeful to find a way to marry the two worlds for her own practice of medicine that her story, to me, is just fascinating. I am always drawn to very honest stories of emotional struggle and this one is so real that it held me in its grasp until I finished it in nearly a single sitting.

[Anne Oswald · Rating 3 out of 5]

An account of one year spent in an OB/GYN residency (Dr. Harrison ultimately quit, but has had a wonderful career in humanitarian work). Dr. Harrison is VERY opinionated, which makes this book difficult to read. This book is interesting as a snap-shot of obstetrics in the late seventies. I truly hope things have changed since then. I respect Dr. Harrison, but it's hard to empathize with her.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a disturbing read. It's based on the diary of a family medicine physician who returns to take a residency in Ob-Gyn, as she struggles to balance work and family, and to find a place for herself as a feminist in a misogynist profession. Much of the book is outdated, but much of it still applies. I read it during my third year Ob-Gyn rotation, partially as an antidote to the mechanistic and misogynistic elements that I found in the profession.

This isn't a book for everyone. People who strongly disagree with the book's message are not going to be persuaded-- it's too strident for persuasion. Health care professionals who are believers in the medical model of childbirth will likely find the book offensive. For anyone involved in medicine, it's hard to face such strong criticism without reacting against it. But if you're able to read with an open mind, and balance what you read with your own experience, A Woman In Residence has a lot to teach.

[Cogito_ergo_sum · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm used to reading fiction so it took some time to get used to reading a biography of real events, knowing that there isn't a 'real' plot.

This book frightens me. I checked the date of publication and while 1982 seems like a really long time to me (frankly because the book is way older than I am), in terms of science years, it really is just a short time. I know how slow science moves forward.

My point being, how much has medicine changed? I'm not in the medical field so I can only guess about what I see on the news and read in articles.

I'm not disputing that there has been major advances in medicine (specifically genetics and viruses), but what about some of the basic practices listed in this book?

This book does bring to light issues such as people in the medical industry are overworked, and not getting enough sleep. If I am to be admitted to a hospital, I want my doctor to be well rested to make decisions of sound judgement.

Even though this book is dated, I still think it is valuable to read. I want our society to move forward to develop the best medical practices that it can to perform the least invasive surgeries possible.

[Jolovessnow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disturbing view of a major medical center residency in the '70s. While the author describes the sad medical practices affecting the women who come to the hospital for the best medical care, she is not a sympathetic character. Her views of the experience of childbirth are idealized and may not be practical in a busy community. I hope that hospitals have improved since this time period although the preface written by the author in 2013 claims that things are worse. She seems to have left medicine at this point in time (if Google is correct).

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful into the history of Ob/GYN residences of the 70s and 80s. I now understand on a new level why I have heard Ob/gyns are good surgeons and not equipped to sit back and let a natural unmedicated birth happen. Just to read the surgery after sugery that Dr. Harrison assisted in, forced to do c-sections, episiotomies and epidurals made that clear. Even as dated as this book is, I think it would still prove useful to those seeking ob/GYN training.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michelle Harrison, a young doctor's look into a residency in the OB/GYN field. This is her take as a single mother as she goes thru her residency with a young child. She takes us behind the scenes with trying to take care her child, her home, and her residency. This book shows us how man treat woman while they are going thru labor, its more like they don't care about the mom or the baby just how to get it done without must fess and quickly. It was a quick read had it done in over a day.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting historical insight from a female OB/GYN resident who had experience with home birth before entering a traditional residency. This book is quite out of date, but still very relative, based on what I know about the standard medical treatment of women in labor and about caesarean rates.

[Hillary · Rating 2 out of 5]

While she has great material here, the author's writing is not conducive to a great reading experience. She comes off as strident and sometimes whiny. It isn't immersive. I have nothing but respect for her as a groundbreaking feminist physician, but an author she's not, IMO.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intense disturbing autobiographical story about a female MD who wishes to expand her knowledge in OB/GYN to better serve her Family Practice. The negativivity she encounters seems unreal in the mid to late 70's. It made me wonder if it was only her location? Or if it was iniversal in the US?

[Mindy Tobe · Rating 2 out of 5]

The fact that this was written by a doctor is negated by the poor writing/editing of this book. The numerous grammatical and spelling errors made it hard to get through the memoir without rolling my eyes.

[Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides · Rating 3 out of 5]

I forget when exactly I read this. 94-ish?

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's frightening to realize that doctors and nurses care so little for patients.

[Karen Newton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned a lot

I really enjoyed A Woman in Residence. This was a very insightful book and gave such a full picture of women in the medical community in the 70-80s.

[Emily Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

Really made you think about how women are treated in medicine both as patients and providers.