Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Medical Resident

Watched the drama series adaptation last year and wanted to read the original material. Very informative on obgyn procedures and complications, the gruelling schedule of NHS junior doctors, and the government's callous campaign against said doctors. However, the unwarranted misogyny and fatphobia (among the MANY other disparaging remarks) was really off-putting and just unnecessarily cruel especially since these women were going through some of the most challenging and painful experiences of their lives.

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hellandhogwarts's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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ramreadsagain's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny informative sad fast-paced

I don't usually give star ratings to memoirs and autobiographies.

This was excellent, I've never laughed so hard and so frequently at a book, and then had the last few pages nearly make me cry. Our NHS is something we need to grab on to with both hands and never let go, yet the UK government is making many willingly chuck it down the drain. The problems in the NHS (caused by government cuts etc) can be fixed by investing in the NHS and its doctors (and nurses, and other staff), not by getting rid of it. As someone who hopefully has 30-40 years before I start seriously needing healthcare, I am afraid for what that will look like in our country by then. Do I start saving now?

Some sections in particular were really informative, such as the part about how NHS access to fertility help works (i.e. arbitrarily and cruelly), and in general the ridiculous ways that junior doctors are treated in terms of where and how they work. My partner's sister will be a junior doctor next year and I'll be very interested (and probably saddened) to hear what has changed.

Loved this book, though could tell it had all gone through heavy editing. Would have liked a more realistic look at what his daily thoughts would have looked like jotted down back then.

Some heavy fatphobia in some places to the usual doctor tune of "why would they not just lose weight? fat people are idiots amirite" which was disappointing. It always amazes me how little doctors know about how that works.

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