Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Medical Resident by Adam Kay

28 reviews

bookgraham's review against another edition

challenging funny informative reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Abortion

Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Racism, Sexism, Excrement, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, and Classism

bnelson13's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Medical content

Moderate: Child death, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Vomit, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Grief, and Alcohol

smupple's review against another edition

funny reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer and Grief

Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Drug use

leonormsousa's review against another edition

challenging funny informative fast-paced

5.0

QUOTE

"So I told them the truth: the hours are terrible, the pay is terrible, the conditions are terrible; you’re underappreciated, unsupported, disrespected and frequently physically endangered. But there’s no better job in the world."

WHAT I ENJOYED

• the bigger message: no health care provider does what they do for money, they do it to help other people and for passion
• incredibly funny and witty
• very honest and raw, maybe a consequence of the descriptive and factual tone: the author does not try to paint himself or anyone else in a good or bad light
• great insights into the life of a medical care taker (doctor): 
  • the lack of working conditions
  • their struggles with balancing work with personal life
  • the pressure and the emotional weight they’re under
  • the feeling of unreadiness and how they grow as doctors with time
  • working in public vs private healthcare
• the side notes explaining the more medical/technical terms really help guide us common people
• the author narration in the audiobook is exceptional

WHAT I DIDN'T ENJOY

• if you’re not from the UK or are not familiarized with its health and education systems, there might be a couple of things that you don’t grasp as well. it's not something that affects your reading experience much and tbh a google search can probably solve it... 

RECOMMENDED TO

• everyone!
• i feel like it’s an essential read to better understand and appreciate the work of health care providers
• i imagine it might be especially interesting for other healthcare providers since they will probably relate to some of the experiences
• the only exception to my recommendation is if you have triggers connected to medical content & pregnancies (recommend checking the full list of TWs)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

cicelybelle's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

5.0

As someone who works in a veterinary hospital, I found this book in some ways very relatable as in the craziest cases are often true! It is a very enjoyable listen if you like biology and are appropriately thick skinned when it comes to guts, gore, and hospitals. It’s very funny, yet movingly and conveys well the strain the NHS is under. Recommend the TV series too, if you enjoy the book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Infertility, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

ninah17's review against another edition

challenging informative sad fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

bennyholm's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, and Chronic illness

afiya2004's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Blood, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Miscarriage

Minor: Drug use, Racism, and Self harm

eliza_flamingo1's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

onthelam's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

i just finished reading this and i am shook .I cant believe that we are in the 21st century yet people have to go through such torture constantly. i cant believe there is nothing we can do. i have a sister who's gonna become a doctor because of parental pressure, I have a friend. i cant believe that this is how the most important profession is treated..this is how we treat the people we put our lives in the hand of. The title was true, this is going to hurt and it should hurt for this hurt is nothing faced with what these people go through.I am grateful to this book for bringing me awareness about this topic and helping me make some major decisions of my own life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Infertility, Terminal illness, Excrement, Dementia, Grief, and Abortion

Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infertility, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Dementia, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol