Samuel Shem

Samuel Shem is the pseudonym of Stephen Joseph Bergman, the American psychiatrist turned bestselling author. Shem is best known for his novel “House of God,” which has become a must-read for medical students the world over. In addition to “House of God, “his other novels such as “Mount Misery” and “Man’s 4th Best Hospital” are fiction but almost realistic depictions of how doctors are trained in their residency. In 1966, Shem graduated from Balliol College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, having learned under notable cardiac physiologist Denis Noble FRS that would later go on to chair the Oxford Cardiac Electrophysiology Group. He then graduated from Harvard Medical School and Harvard College. His debut novel “House of God” was inspired by his experiences interning at “Beth Israel Hospital.” He currently teaches at the NYU Langone Medical Center of the New York University School of Medicine.