Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - This is Going to Hurt

It was okay. At some places it was funny. Mostly it was just interesting to learn about how doctors are doing. I appreciate why this book was written and I think that the healthcare system is worth fighting for. However, I wrote down in my reading notes first a bunch of things that were a bit interesting and then a bunch of things that remind us that doctors are human and have no problem calling their patients fat. Feel free to see all the ways the writer fucked up.

Reading notes:

Monday, 6 December 2004

“All junior doctors at the hospital have been asked to sign a document opting out of the European Working Time Directive because our contracts are non-compliant with it.”

Monday, 8 August 2005

“The realization I could have caught HIV.”

Tuesday, 24 January 2006

Discrimination against Jehovah’s Witnesses and talk of when their consent was not considered in the hospital setting.

Monday, 12 June 2006

A doctor telling someone to lose weight to help their medical condition, that is not directly connected to their weight.

Senior House Officer - Post Two

No, it is not “working” with the system of see once and then do.

Wednesday, 27 September 2006

Comment about Greek people for no reason.

Monday, 23 October 2006

Mentioning of “hermaphrodites” and assumptions about how intersex people look.

Sunday, 21 January 2007

We get to hear that it is actually very simple to stop taking drugs as an addict.

Senior House Officer - Post Three

As someone, whose whole family is Catholic, it is very funny to keep hearing the same joke about how all of the priests are lusting over small boys. It is definitely not getting old nor starts to feel uncomfortable, because of the amount of priests that are actually there to help people.

Monday, 12 February 2007

Haha, it is so funny to make fun of people who come to hospital for a morning-after pill. So funny.

Thursday, 16 August 2007

Oh, it’s nothing, just making fun of a patient who wanted to eat her placenta.

Wednesday, 24 October 2007

I love getting to hear about a doctor possibly violating a protocol, by masturbating while working.

Tuesday, 8 January 2008

Just fatphobia.

Monday, 17 March 2008

What a nice thing it is to call someone an idiot over a misspelling.

Monday, 21 April 2008

Someone fell face down into an opened abdomen? During an operation?

Thursday, 3 July 2008

It is at least nice to know that he cares about people’s mental health.

Thursday, 18 September 2008

Just a general discussion about how tourists “need” to bring their own medical equipment to countries like Uganda, since “they cannot possibly be up to code on hygienics”. Is this racism or what should I mark it under?

Saturday, 22 November 2008

What about we do not just blame porn and make sure that teens get to know more about their body?

Thursday, 19 February 2009

We sure do hate it when people choose names for their children, that are not Elizabeth and Charles.

Sunday, 26 April 2009

How do you work in OB/GYN and complain about the smell from vaginas? And making fun of sex workers?

Saturday, 18 July 2009

There is really no reason to describe how a patient looks in their private areas, specifically when they are a patient and you are a doctor in OB/GYN.

Wednesday, 19 August 2009

We love the constant reference to “Yeah, before we did not quite listen to the news”.

Saturday, 24 April 2010

Just because a patient is racist does not mean that you can make choices about how their body should look after you, it is not up to you.

Saturday, 1 May 2010

I’m tired. They cannot fathom to call someone a sex worker and call someone who just makes a remark a terrorist.

Sunday, 14 November 2010

Well, he only half wants to make fun of a Muslim man, so it cannot be that bad.

Content Warnings

bookgraham's review against another edition

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challenging funny informative reflective fast-paced

4.0

Content Warnings

eloiseug's review

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emotional funny informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

This book was simply incredible. The writing is funny, witty and sarcastic. The book gives you a real sense of all of the positives and negatives of being a junior doctor, along with a sense that you are really getting to know Adam as he was when he was practicing. Kay's writing is a triumph, and one of the best things I have ever had the privilege to read.

Content Warnings

bnelson13's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny informative lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

5.0

Another book, that if I could give it more than 5 stars I would! Mostly funny, slightly gross, this book is comprised of diary enteries from Dr. Adam Kay's time in Obgyn in various hospitals throughout the UK working for the NHS from 2004-2010. Certain terminology that may be lesser known is described in helpful footnotes throughout the entire book.

Kay writes how difficult it is working in a system that doesn't quite support doctors, midwives, nurses and other hospital staff, and the impacts on their personal lives that also suffer. Kay has since left the healthcare industry but wrote this novel in solidarity, as an insight into hospital life for the general population after the government started to attack the NHS and saying that doctors are only in it for the money in 2016.

A very insightful read, if you thought working in a hospital was already difficult, it's actually 10x worse than what you had thought. As it is, now in 2023, and with Covid still running rampant, it's clear that a lot of healthcare systems are crumbling due to lack of staffing, lack of care for staff, and governments out to make as many monetary cutbacks as they possibly can. I think we're on a slippery slope with the healthcare system now, and this book is proof that things need to change. Very eye opening. Well worth the read.

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