A review by kh32
This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor, by Adam Kay

challenging funny informative sad fast-paced

3.5

Favourite quotes:
“It now seemed extreme and unreasonable in terms of what was expected of me, but at the time, I’d just accepted it as part of the job. The extra mile was the normal distance.”
“The depth of the lows is the price you pay for the height of the highs.”
“She bursts into tears, and out come all the will nevers, the crushing realization that forever is just a word on the front of Valentine’s cards.”
“The other thing I realize is that none of her many, many concerns are about herself; it’s all about the kids, her husband, her sister, her friends. Maybe that’s the definition of a good person.”
“He must realize we have the same chat every time, but it clearly doesn’t matter—he just wants to know there’s someone out there who cares. And actually, that’s a very large part of what being a doctor is.”
“I dress him again, look up to a God I don’t believe in, and say, ‘Look after him.’”
“You don’t cure depression, the same way you don’t cure asthma; you manage it. I’m the inhaler he’s decided to go with and I should be pleased he’s gone this long without an attack.”
“Medicine is the host who manages to keep you at the party hours after you first think about leaving.”
“It’s funny—you don’t think of doctors getting ill.”
“Think about the toll the job takes on every medical professional, at home and at work. Remember that all of them do an absolutely impossible job to the very best of their abilities. Your time in the hospital may well hurt them a lot more than it hurts you.”
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