James Champion

Adventures of an American Medical Student cover

James Champion’s fictionalized memoir, Adventures of an American Medical Student, is gritty and explores a range of human suffering with heart, soul, and humor.

James Banks is a medical student in Brighton, a rural town in Kentucky’s Appalachia, a region stricken with poverty and an opioid epidemic. James just wants to match with a good psychiatry residency and graduate. But he has just received a rejection from a residency he applied to, and he has a bad feeling that he failed a medical licensing exam. Failure is not an option. James must become a doctor to pay off $230,000 in student loans.

James runs a gauntlet of clinical rotations in different specialties: family medicine, osteopathic medicine, general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, emergency medicine, cardiology, neurology, and neurosurgery. He encounters a motley cast of patients and doctors–including a patient with blue skin and a hostile, tantrum-throwing ob-gyn–who teach him how to become a physician. He sees the best and worst in humanity and even patients who have glimpsed heaven and hell.

REVIEWS

“Adventures of an American Medical Student gives a first-hand look into what medical students in the United States go through in their medical education. It is a very candid story about one medical student’s events throughout his medical education journey. The stories are captivating and keep the reader wanting to read more. I can relate to some of the stories from when I was a medical student. The stress, long work hours, interesting patient stories, and the balance of school and personal life are vividly illustrated in this book. For anyone wanting to know what a day in the life of a medical student looks like, this helps demonstrate that from one day to the next.”
—Joe Kingery, D.O.
Dean, Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine
Professor of Family Medicine

“Dr. Champion pulls the curtain back on medical training with his first novel. He effectively captures the contrast between the mind-numbing monotony and unfiltered chaos that is the second half of medical school. Thought provoking and honest throughout, Adventures of an American Medical Student tells an endearing story that few outside of the field would ever get to experience.”
—Matthew DeLiere, M.D.
Forensic Psychiatrist
Denver, Colorado

“This book invited me to relive my own medical school training, both the glory and misery. It will give the non-medical reader a realistic and fascinating look into the medical training process and how it impacts both the medical office and the student’s personal life.”
—C. Allen Musil, M.D.
Medical Director, Frontier Health
Chair, East Tennessee State University Department of Psychiatry

“JC has effectively combined his medical school clinical years with entertainment and crisp medical review. A seasoned physician will appreciate a refreshing review, while any medical student or resident will anticipate and seek similar experiences.”
—Richard Hilliard, D.O.
Internist
Major, U.S. Army, retired

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James Champion is a psychiatrist practicing in Appalachia. He supervises psychiatry residents, teaches medical students, and collaborates with nurse practitioners. He has a D.O. degree from an Appalachian medical school.

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