Modern Version of Osler's Bedside Library

Abstract

MODERN VERSION OF OSLER'S BEDSIDE LIBRARY ROBERTE. RAKEL* Reading is a personal adventure; our individual preferences in books are influenced and directed by the variety and variability of past influences . Sir William Osier, whom many consider the ideal physician, believed that regular reading provided an "inner education" that was necessary beyond professional training. It is apparent that his own reading habits were influenced by the religious atmosphere in which he spent his early years and in which he received a liberal exposure to the classics. The books and authors he recommended to medical students for their bedside libraries clearly reflect those biases as well as his preferences for evening reading. Osier proposed that: A liberal education may be had at a very slight cost of time and money. Wellfilled though the day may be with appointed tasks, to make the best possible use of your one or of your ten talents, rest not satisfied with this professional training , but try to get the education, if not of a scholar, at least of a gentleman. Before going to sleep read for half an hour, and in the morning have a book open on your dressing table. You will be surprised to find how much can be accomplished in the course of a year. Osier recommended 10 books or authors for medical students to read in this manner [I]: Old and New Testaments Shakespeare Montaigne Plutarch's Lives Marcus Aurelius Epictetus Religio Medici Don Quixote Emerson Oliver Wendell Holmes—Breakfast Table series ?Professor and chairman, Department of Family Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, Texas 77030.© 1988 by The University of Chicago. AU rights reserved. 0031-5982/88/3 104-0607$01 .00 Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 31,4· Summer 1988 \Dii The list includes authors who flourished during Osier's young manhood (Emerson and Holmes) but primarily reflects his love ofthe classics and the attitudes of the last century. I was curious to know which books would be chosen by physicians who share a similar philosophy today. My interest was piqued by Reynolds [2], who conducted a similar but smaller survey. Responses were solicited from the American Osier Society, a group of 95 physician-scholars who share a respect for Osier and an appreciation for the high value he placed on humanism in medicine and the pursuit of excellence. If what we see in Osier's list is a demonstration of one man's particularly discriminating and scholarly nineteenth-century view of the world, my hope in taking this survey was to see what, if any, patterns or trends might surface if we, as twentieth-century physicians, examined our own reading tastes and habits. Members of this society were asked to list their favorite books, paying particular attention to those that would be of greatest interest and value to developing physicians. Eighty percent of the members responded (76 of 95). The survey yielded many interesting results. Although 428 different books and authors were recommended, 300 of the 869 total were mentioned only once. Of the remaining 569 that were mentioned two or more times, 30 books or authors were recommended five times or more. It is evident that variety in reading taste is a prominent feature of this group. In one day's mail I received a response listing Lewis Thomas as one of the respondent's favorite authors, and then opened a response from Lewis Thomas, who is a member of the American Osier Society. Accompanying Thomas's list of favorite books was the note, "Herewith the list, written down without much premeditation and while, as always these days, double parked." The styles of individual responses to the survey displayed nearly as much variety as the choices of favorite books and authors. Some included a list of books without comment; some commented but felt uncomfortable providing a list, as such; others included brief comments with each book mentioned. The number of recommendations in a single return ranged from zero (those who did not want to impose their preferences on others) to 109. The prize for the most recommendations goes to William Bean, who submitted 16 lists published by himself or others containing a total of...