White Coat Diaries by Madi Sinha is a 2020 Berkley publication.

Realistic medical drama

Norah Kapadia has just entered her residency, with a combination of excitement and nerves. Right off the bat, she makes a horrible mistake, magnifying her self-doubt. To complicate matters her family obligations tug at her, as do the many things in life she has yet to experience, causing her to second guess her career choice.

As time passes, Norah will live and learn, leading her to an ultimate crisis of conscience that will decide her future.

When I added this book to my reading list, the top genres Goodreads users placed the book in was 'contemporary romance/fiction', adding the word Medical into the mix, which gave the impression, this was a medical drama-ala Grey’s Anatomy, with some degree of romantic elements included.

Once I finished reading the book, my first thought was that it was mislabeled. A little digging on other sites shows the book categorized simply as 'Medical Fiction" which is a far more apt description- in my opinion.

As the saying goes- ‘Write what you know’- and that is what Madi Sinha has done here. As a medical professional she gives readers a close up and personal view of the drama that goes on behind the scenes in the lives of doctors and exposes hospital politics, some of which blur ethical lines.

The story is compelling on several levels- the cultural expectations Norah has to contend with, the intense pressures on health care professionals, the risks, the human mistakes and the coping mechanisms physicians use, as well as the enormous possibility of severe burnout- certainly gave me something to chew on.

Unfortunately, the drama depicted never grabbed me emotionally, nor did the characters. While I felt Norah’s frustrations, self-doubt, and her palpable crisis of conscience, no matter badly I wished for it, I didn’t find her character inspirational enough to worry about her or to root for her. I did see her character evolve as she goes from a green resident to a more wise, mature woman- which was a plus- and I did applaud the decisions she made at the end of the day.

The ending was also a bit ambiguous and I would have preferred an epilogue or something that hints at Norah's future contentment.

Overall, this book turned out to be a little different from what I was expecting. There is plenty of sudsy hospital theatre here, ala Grey’s Anatomy- as the blurb suggests- but it lacked the angst, urgency, and passion, I was craving.

Other than Norah, the characters are not especially likeable, and I hoped Norah would achieve healthier relationships, both personally and professionally.

Overall, despite the detachment I felt while reading this novel, I do think it is a solid debut. I did enjoy the authenticity the author brought to the table, and the insight into the medical profession, including the various factors that go into patient care- including the machinations of doctors and administrators, behind the scenes. It was interesting, to be sure.

3 stars

Very thankful for both NetGally and Berkley Publishing for the ARC of this book.

While I love Grey's, this book fell short for me. I was surprised that I was able to finish it. I feel like it was choppy and would just jump from point to point without much transition. It also exposed a side of medicine that I hope is not how people in hospitals are really treated and it made me really glad to have not gone to med school or want to pursue a career in medicine.

It was a quick read but not super enjoyable for me. Very thankful for both NetGally and Berkley Publishing for the ARC of this book.

While I love Grey's, this book fell short for me. I was surprised that I was able to finish it. I feel like it was choppy and would just jump from point to point without much transition. It also exposed a side of medicine that I hope is not how people in hospitals are really treated and it made me really glad to have not gone to med school or want to pursue a career in medicine.

It was a quick read but not super enjoyable for me.

This author has potential and this is her debut. I got excited to read it because it was presented as Scrubs meets Greys Anatomy and I have loved both of those shows. I was expecting a doctor's perspective on internship, maybe with some romance and comedy thrown in. However, I found the main character Norah to be so unlikeable until the end of the book, when she acted like a completely different person. It is possible that I found her unlikeable because she was portrayed as a timid, spineless woman in medicine and I wanted her to be more? It started off good and the end was good but the middle could do with some character development. I could not understand why women were portrayed so negatively (the resident sleeping her way to the top, the studious virgin willing to cover up her fling's mistakes, the flaky BFF willing to drop a friendship over a mistake.) The insurance aspect and the long hours of doctor training, as well as the substance use disorder issues I found to be believable. The pull between career and pleasing an immigrant parent also rang true and I related to this. I wish that the fight between the friends had been fleshed out more, as well as what happened with the work friend Stu, instead of just a "two years later.' The ending did not feel realistic to me, but I understand everyone deals differently with ethical dilemmas. But there were a lot of good parts and this is a debut, so I will read another book by this author to see if she grows as she perfects her craft.

Such a cute and fun read! Perfect distraction in life right now. Really enjoyable characters and story and hard to put down!

Norah Kapadia has always dreamed of following in her father's footsteps to become a doctor. And now she's finally made it. For the next year, she'll be an intern, learning under the best at Philadelphia General Hospital. But to get through the year, she'll have to stay on her toes while working grueling hours, doing scut for higher ups, and putting up with everyone from nurses to residents and even the very doctors who are supposed to be teaching her treating her like something they scraped off the bottom of her shoe.

At the end of her first day, Norah is more than ready to pack it in. Only her drive to continue her father's legacy, and her charming resident who may or may not be flirting with her, keeps her motivated. But with her home life becoming more and more complicated with each day, Norah finds it harder and harder to keep that bright eyed motivation going. And when Norah's own ethics are challenged, she isn't at all certain she has it in her to continue.

I consider myself a pretty die hard fan of Grey's Anatomy, so of course a book comped to that is going to make it on my radar. Though so far Grey's has yet to introduce a character quite like Norah.

Norah comes from a traditional Indian family, which means she doesn't drink and she's had very little (read, none) dating experience at all. She's been too focused on her career! But all that seems to matter to her mother is settling down with a nice Indian man and popping out a few grandchildren. Things that Norah hasn't been interested in at all.

Norah is driven and smart, she's a good friend, she's a good daughter, she reads real, which I appreciated so much! I mean, the book starts with her accidentally sticking herself with a needle and immediately freaking out in exactly the way you'd expect any normal person to freak out.

And Norah's got stress in addition to the needle stick. Her mother has been suffering from depression ever since Norah's father died (well over a decade ago). Caring for their mother has fallen to Norah's brother, who still lives close enough to check in multiple times a day, but with a new baby of his own, he's recently started lobbying for Norah's help.

The bright spot in all of this is that Norah seems to be building some sort of relationship with her resident. He's newly-ish single and charming, willing to come in on his day off to help Norah with a patient no one else seems willing to spend time on. Oh, and he keeps asking her on sort of, could be dates that leave Norah incredibly confused.

Are you getting the Grey's vibes? It probably helps that Sinha is an actual physician. And like the show, the medical stuff that's mentioned throughout the book is all at once fascinating and entertaining. One thing I think Sinha really shines at, that we never get in the show (TV vs books, y'all) is the internal turmoil that Norah suffers. When her friend points out that her way of talking about a patient, for example, is cold, Norah feels guilty. There's more, but I definitely don't want to give it away. After all, the drama is where the great reading is!

The White Coat Diaries is an excellent debut and Madi Sinha is officially on my must read list from here on out!

Norah Kapadia is facing a lot in her personal and professional life. It’s never easy to be the perfect Indian daughter while pursuing a career in medicine. Norah is trying her best in navigating her professional life while balancing time with her family. But she is really not doing a good job. She is kinda struggling in both that something gotta give. In reality, she needs to grow up a bit. Stop being naive about things. Don’t be serious about that guy, it’s a waste of your time. She is going to realize this later on. But things always come back.Norah spent a lot of the time living up to people standards but not her own. It’s time for her to realize what she wants overall. And that won’t happen until the end, which is kinda of a bummer but expected.I wish the author spent more time in Norah re-discovering herself than her making poor decisions. I would have liked to read about her to discover who she really is.

Norah was a likeable, if flawed, character who grows throughout the story. The book was a quick read that kept the pages turning. The plot was somewhat contrived and predictable, but overall I enjoyed this book.

Oh, man. I have so many mixed feelings about this book. The comp - Grey's Anatomy X Scrubs - was a huge draw, as I'm a longtime fan of medical dramas (and likewise, fiction), and heaven knows I could use some humor right now.

The author does a great job of swinging from serious topics to a more lighthearted tone. I liked the premise (albeit, a stereotypical one) - medical intern under tremendous pressure from her family to be successful - and get married. She's torn between the demands of her work and the needs of her recently widowed mother who needs support = more than her expecting sister-in-law and brother can provide. She also does a great job at portraying the pressures that residents endure (without going all hot in the break room like Grey's does). In fact, I didn't really see this as a romance. To me, it's women's lit, as our MC Norah is juggling cultural, personal, and professional expectations, and doing it all quite badly, to be honest.

Norah makes some mistakes, loses confidence and begins to second-guess herself. The bigger problem is that Norah isn't always all that likeable, and neither are her fellow residents. Her relationship with her friends is rocky, The first half of the book moves slowly, and the medical dilemma mentioned in the synopsis doesn't actually happen until the last part of the book. The issues she has with her family at the beginning kind of fade out in the middle and return at the end. The resolution isn't at all what I was expecting (not in a good way) - it felt sudden and left a lot of loose ends.

The author did keep me reading, and it was engaging at times, but the ending was really disappointing. I'm giving this three-and-a-half stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an eArc of this book for review purposes; all opinions are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book. The writing got off to a rough start but eventually began to flow. The story kept one engaged and led one to care about the characters. A story about medical students, their trials and the ethical issues they face.

In Madi Sinha's "The White Coat Diaries," twenty-six-year-old Norah Kapadia is a serious-minded physician who was at the top of her class in medical school. When she begins her internship at Philadelphia General Hospital, she is at the mercy of her supervisors, one of whom uses her as his errand-girl. When he orders her to pick up his dry-cleaning, she is taken aback but too timid to refuse.

Norah is soon in over her head. She lacks the support system that she needs, and when she asks nurses or other doctors for help, they often brush her off. When she makes mistakes (early on, she sticks herself with a needle after administering an injection to a patient), our heroine begins to doubt that she is cut out for this field. Other challenges ensue, and Nora realizes that she will need to be more resilient, assertive, and hardened if she is to succeed in her chosen profession.

This fast-paced and entertaining book has humorous scenes in which Norah spars with her overbearing mother; spices up her personal life by cozying up to a good-looking resident; and navigates tricky relationships with a high-strung friend and her erratic colleagues. In addition, Sinha, who is a physician herself, tackles such serious questions as: What should a doctor tell frightened patients and relatives who want straight answers? Is it ever appropriate to cover up medical errors? Should administrators allow interns to work such long hours that they become sleep-deprived and disoriented? Finally, is it advisable to burden doctors with responsibilities that they are too inexperienced to handle? "The White Coat Diaries" is a wryly amusing and provocative work of fiction in which a naïve, insecure, and socially awkward woman evolves into someone who dares to stand up for what she believes.

White Coat Diaries is an excellent medical novel, perfect on its own, but also relief from the drought between seasons of Grey's Anatomy and New Amsterdam. Norah Kapadia is finally finished medical school and internships. She's found her ideal medical residency but it doesn't stay ideal for long. Cranky patients, long hours, and balancing her duties at the "perfect Indian daughter" are taking the shine from her dream job. When she meets chief resident, Ethan Cantor, Their attraction to each other grows, Norah becomes more confident and comfortable in her job, and things are looking up. Of course they don't stay that way for long. A horrible mistake is made and Norah is pulled in to the cover-up. Now it is up to her to decide if she protects her colleagues or stands up for the patients, putting herself at risk. Anyone who likes a well-written, dramatic story will enjoy the White Coat Diaries. I appreciate the opportunity to read the ARC.

Here's the thing - I have desperately missing all of my medical drama shows that I love so much. I have re-watched and binge-watched and tried to love police procedural dramas just as much, but I just don't. Thank goodness for this book! Grey's Anatomy-esque, The White Coat Diaries gives readers drama and medicine and romance for 300 pages!

An intern learns the hard way about the realities of practicing medicine in the first year of her residency. When she and another resident find themselves in a moral dilemma, they face the toughest choices of their career. Author and physician Madi Sinha relies on her personal experience in medicine to give readers a novel that is factual but also fizzles out toward the end in her debut The White Coat Diaries.

Intern Norah Kapadia has landed the residency of her dreams at Philadelphia General Hospital. Everyone knows the reputation of PGH in turning out stellar doctors, but now that her intern year has actually started Norah figures out how those doctors got there: by enduring grueling hours and harsh treatment by older residents and faculty. At least she has the other interns. The five of them commiserate over doing the “scut” work—the menial tasks meant for the lowest on the totem pole—and trying to remember what day it is after their long shifts.

Even though her first day nearly ends in someone dying, chief resident Ethan Cantor swoops in and saves the day. He also captivates Norah’s attention, when she has enough of it to spare after doing all of the work an intern is expected to do. As time goes on, Ethan reciprocates Norah’s interest. It’s one of the few saving graces of what’s turning out to be the most challenging experience of her life, both physically and mentally.

Despite the fact that her late father was a renowned physician himself, Norah doesn’t have the wholehearted approval of her family in wanting to follow in his footsteps. Her hypochondriac, shopaholic mother can’t seem to stop buying useless items to satisfy her need for emotional connectivity, and her brother expects her to take time off—in her intern year!—and manage the few actual health issues their mother has.

Norah does her best, but the pressures of work are starting to mount. When she finds herself in a morally questionable situation at work, she goes with her gut in the hopes of making an impression. Some applaud her, some question her, but only Norah understands what she sacrifices to make her own mark on the medical profession.

Author Madi Sinha speaks with boldness and confidence on the experience of the intern year for students entering residency. With her own background as a physician, Sinha has no problem pivoting on the spur of the moment from a serious moment to a lighthearted one and back to a situation where someone might die. The quick changes show what medicine looks like on a daily basis, and the hospital setting is clearly where Sinha feels most comfortable with her characters.

The plot, however, remains problematic at best. Norah resents her family’s strong pull on her and succumbs to her brother’s pressure for a short time. Then that part of the story fades away. When Norah finds herself on the cusp of a major personal development in romance, she explains it with the same intensity as she discusses her patients. Yet that thread, too, remains loose in the wind. A friendship integral to her life unravels, which might make readers question its strength in the first place, and a temporary job comes and goes in the blink of an eye without any serious impression on Norah.

The biggest issue in the book comes in the questionable moral choice Norah makes. Readers will feel some tension building, and when the climax comes to the fore it’s easy to make assumptions on what will happen next. Instead of wading into the deep end with the characters, however, Sinha bypasses the situation altogether, giving Norah an easy out. The result will leave readers questioning her choices for the betterment of the profession she wanted so much, even as they might feel somewhat relieved that she recused herself from doing further harm.

The novel ultimately feels like one where opportunities were missed, both on the cultural front as well as in regards to Norah’s ability to make a significant difference for more than just a handful of people. Readers who enjoy authentic workplace dramas might want to check this out. Otherwise, I recommend they Borrow The White Coat Diaries.

Big thumbs up for The White Coat Diaries! I was anticipating a romance read but was pleasantly surprised that it was so much more than that. Loved the characters, hospital setting, and family conflicts. Will definitely be purchasing for our fiction collection.

I really wanted to like this one, but there were just too many problems. The main conflict referenced in the publisher blurb wasn't really introduced until page 260, three quarters of the way through the book. The protagonist was incredibly unlikeable - which isn't a disqualifier for me, but wasn't done in a very self-aware way, and it was hard to root for Norah at any point in the book. Almost every patient was described as an annoyance instead of a human being, and nurses were literally referred to as "the enemy". The only characters given any development, arc, or humanity were doctors, and still none of them were likeable. Interesting concept, very poorly executed.

Scrubs meets an ethics reckoning.

Nora has big shoes to fill. After her father’s death when she was ten, she dedicated her life to medicine leaving her in a state of arrested development. As a resident at Philadelphia General she is so close to her goals she can almost taste it, that is if she doesn’t screw it all up.

Watching Nora flail through her first year in residency is a little like watching a toddler run into traffic. She is trusted with medical decisions when she doesn’t seem to trust herself. Her naïveté gets her in trouble and I found myself wanting to yell at her and protect her at the same time.

This book is challenging. The author, a doctor, doesn’t hold back and shows the reader the state of healthcare. She shows the doctors, residents, fellows, interns and
Med students as they are: inflated egos, hustling to get ahead, and all too human.

I can’t say much more without ruining the book, so you should read it and then go thank a doctor or a nurse and then vote some people out of Congress so we can revamp the healthcare system.

The pacing was a little off for me in a few places, otherwise it would have been a 5 star read. Definitely recommend even though I know you will feel all the feels about Mora and her decisions as you progress through the story.

A compelling story of personal, familial, and cultural expectations. Madi Sinha is a practicing physician, she really brought an authentic feel to the story and yet it was still extremely accessible. This is the story of Nora and her first year of residency at a prestigious hospital in Philadelphia. We watch Nora deal with the stress, the rigor, the sleepless nights, and the politics of her year as the intern. This is definitely not sugarcoated. It is a year of being judged, humiliated, humbled, shamed, and rarely complemented. All I could think while I was reading this is, why would anyone put themselves through this? And then I thought why do we need to put anyone through this? I really don’t understand why a sleep deprived doctor is ever a good idea it just seems like it’s a recipe for mistakes. BUT believe it or not... nobody asked me. On top of all this Nora is also dealing with familial and cultural expectations. Her mom is lonely, needy, and a hypochondriac. She is constantly making Nora feel guilty for her choices. Not to mention mom is constantly badgering Nora to find a man. Nora‘s brother Paul is at his wits end and tired of being the only one responsible for their mom, he wants Nora to share the load. But how can Nora do that when she’s working constantly not to mention she lives hours away.

Nora was a very likable and sympathetic character. She has spent her whole life working for this. Foregoing any type of romantic or social life to reach her dream of being a doctor. I felt for her and the struggle she had in balancing everything. Her mom‘s actions would frustrate me, but I did understand that her culture is different from my own. I love the part the Indian culture played in the book, especially the food! There is a small dose of romance in this book, but this is by no stretch of the imagination a romance or a romcom. I would classify this as a well done interesting women’s fiction story.

This book in emojis 🧑‍⚕️ 🩺 💉 🩹 🌡 📋

*** Big thank you to Berkley for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

Norah Kapadia has finally graduated from medical school and is starting her intern year in Internal Medicine at Philadelphia General Hospital. In her naivete -- she "just wants to help people" -- Norah is unprepared for the physical, mental, and emotional toll that the year is going to take on her. Even though her father was a respected physician, the head of Pediatrics at UPenn, he died when Norah was ten and she wants to follow in his footsteps. And she fully intends to finish her residency and make her family proud if she can make it though the grueling years to come. So much happens during her intern year and Norah, a shelter girl from a traditional Indian family, is completely unprepared. Between the demands of her family and the stress of her job, Norah can barely hold it all together. Things look up, at first, when she meets Ethan Cantor, her chief resident, and falls under his spell. As always, however, things are not what they seem to be. Norah needs to make some very serious decisions about who she is and what she wants to do. NO SPOILERS.

This is not nearly as trashy as GREY'S ANATOMY, but it's probably relatable to anyone with a hospital or medical background. The nightmare of internship and residency is real -- the long hours and the stress -- and the very strange bonding that occurs, sort of like a battlefield mentality. The author portrays Norah as being more patient-oriented than most of the other medical personnel in the book, and that's the point it seemed, that Norah was different and better than them. A few digs, some not subtle, at pharma, hospital administration, insurance companies, and legal to name a few. I felt that Norah was a bit one-dimensional in her straight arrow approach and yet I liked her much more in the first part of the book than I did after the "two year" mark. This is not meant to be non-fiction, nor is it a real diary, so I think there's a banal moral in all this, but I really didn't end up liking the ending of this novel at all.

I like books about medical things, no doubt because of my background and career, so I wanted to read it. It was an entertaining and easy read though I honestly don't know if all the detail and description is too much for a person who has no real experience or knowledge of medicine or nursing, etc. I'd describe it as a coming of age story more than anything. Norah grew up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Books for the e-book ARC to read and review.

3.5

Not sure how I feel about this story.

On one hand, I like to see growth in characters through, and by the end of the story, and Norah Kapadia did evolve. Albeit, for me, it was lukewarm.

On the other hand, for someone who graduated with honors at the top of her med school class, Norah always seemed lukewarm. It would have been nice to see some of the confidence that helped her get the Philadelphia General internship throughout the story.

While doctors “react” to the physical/mental health issues of patients by diagnosis and treatment, reactionary was how Norah lived her life. To her family, her culture, her coworkers. Even her decision to go into medicine was to get closer to and understand her workaholic pediatrician father who died in a car accident when she was young.

But for me, Norah’s biggest faux pas was her reactions to her own assumptions. Norah was not the cause of some of the situations she found herself in, but her reactions made them worse. People around her played roles in her life while she had no active role. Had she been more present, things would have gone differently with Meryl, Ethan, Gabe, and maybe even Stuart.

To be fair, Norah admits to being non-confrontational and a bit of a doormat, and this only leads to her being overruled by family and coworkers and bullied into doing things she doesn’t want to.

Norah never speaks ill of her desi heritage, but readily admits the traditions are not for her. She wants more than an arranged marriage with a rich husband, however, instead of being a firm conviction, it’s a recurring theme her family makes fun of and disrespects. When Norah finds her spine and speaks up, it’s out of anger, over-the-top, and at the wrong time.

However, when Norah decides to follow her conscious regardless of the consequences, I applaud her. I have a problem with her timeliness, but even in that, I must give her credit for finally being true to herself.

Though Norah’s journey is cautionary, it is a transparent gaze into the hospital hierarchy of interns, residents, and attending physicians.

And it’s not a good look when career aspirations are put ahead of patient lives.

But The White Coat Diaries is a good look past the medical profession into the personalities and motivations of future doctors and their mentors, and what… and who they’re willing to sacrifice to achieve their goals.

Super cute! If you're a Grey's or medical drama fan, definitely read this one! It was a teeny bit long and slightly predictable but overall very good. I struggled with the main character a little bit - she was a little too naive for me, but I think it worked for the story. The ending felt a little rushed for me but I think it wrapped up pretty well. A fun, juicy read.