Summer is coming and we couldn’t be more ready for it! After a full semester of studying, this more relaxed season is a great time to catch up on reading, both for pleasure and for professional development. To help, we’ve created a list of books that’s a great mix of both. From students just starting to consider health care as a career to those graduating and headed to health care professional programs next semester, these books are great options for everyone making caring their career.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
by Anne Fadiman

Exploring the challenge of cultural and language barriers, this book talks about the misunderstanding between a small county hospital and a Laotian refugee family when providing care for a small child. Fadiman’s account includes fantastic journalism and has won several awards.

When People Come First: Critical Studies in Global Health
by João Biehl and Adriana Petryna

Global health is a very popular topic both in education and politics. This book brings together the experiences and research of scholars from medical, social, political and economic fields to reflect on specific case studies. From disease control to the morality of massive treatments and activism to the pharmaceutical industry, all angles of global health are explored.

Epidemic City: The Politics of Public Health in New York
by James Keith Colgrove

New York City has been home to several firsts, including the first Board of Health in the country in 1866. After a cholera outbreak, public health became a focus. The NYC Department of Health was setting the standard for public health well into the twentieth century. Epidemic City discusses New York City’s public health efforts and challenges since the 1960s, to include AIDS and needle exchange programs. It’s a good historical analysis of successes and failures.

The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care
by T.R. Reid

With the Affordable Health Care Act taking center stage in politics, this book is incredibly timely. Best-selling author T.R. Reid visited democracies around the world to compare affordable health care systems. The Healing of America is great reading for anyone considering public health or health administration as it can help you better understand how other countries are able to do it.

Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer
by Shannon Brownlee

Another book that talks about health care reform, this one focuses on the cost of health care for the uninsured. Brownlee believes there is a way to increase the quality of care for Americans while reducing the costs. Overtreatment is one of the reasons costs are so high. With one in six Americans not having health care and 100,000 patients dying a year from errors, she argues there is room for improvement.

Professional development is important for health care providers. As you continue with your career, continue reading and learning.