Mikhail Bulgakov "Notes of a Young Physician."

Author: Mikhail Bulgakov Year of first publication: 1963 Genre: collection of short stories Medical theme: the early days of a doctor’s career The stories are narrated by a 24-year-old doctor who, immediately after graduating from medical school in Moscow, moves to a hospital in a small town and begins his professional career. He is the only doctor working at this hospital, so from the very beginning he is entirely reliant on his own skills. Applying the knowledge gained in medical school to practice does not always prove easy. Nevertheless, sometimes thanks to the help of the supporting staff (midwives and a medical assistant), and sometimes thanks to intuition and a bit of luck, he manages to rise to the challenge. In his diary, the doctor describes the successes that brought him fame and reflects on his failures. He recounts in detail the difficult cases he dealt with at the beginning of his practice. The young doctor struggles not only with the difficulties stemming from his lack of experience but also with the ignorance of the rural population. Among other things, he describes his attempt to combat a syphilis epidemic, during which he particularly felt the lack of awareness and cooperation on the part of his patients. Although Mikhail Bulgakov needs no introduction, he is known primarily as the author of *The Master and Margarita*. Few realize that Bulgakov gave up his career as a doctor for writing. The short stories in this collection are largely based on the author’s own experiences, as he also practiced medicine in the provinces. The book is not easy to find, but I recommend looking for it, even if only in an electronic version. It is truly worth reading.