This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor

I really enjoyed this book. What this man went through as an English doctor is not only interesting, but occasionally quite funny.

I enjoyed reading this recounting of what it’s like to be a Dr. I knew it was hard, but this book opened my eyes to a lot of things I never imagined. I loved the humor and sarcasm used since it so closely matches my own. Some of the stories were shocking in revealing what strange or awful things people will do to themselves. Be prepared for some off the wall, yet totally believable stories about patients. Several are pretty gross though fascinating nonetheless. The author was easy to relate to even though I gave no medical background whatsoever. The prose is well written in an every man’s voice. At least we see that America has no solitary ownership of mistreating the doctors that we depend on for our very lives. Sad state of affairs there. I do recommend the book though you might need a strong stomach to read several all too descriptive passages.

I purchased this book as a juxtaposition to a very "deep" book illustrating a need to balance storylines and not get too high or low, but to have options to redirect my focus. Well, I had no idea this comedic writing would be so deeply moving and sad, and at times, simply tragic. I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Kay's depiction of the daily grind, the unparalleled sacrifices made to a healthcare provider's personal life, and the perceived glamor of it all. It is often that those who don't experience it firsthand have a skewed view of the reality, and after reading this book, it feels as if I should go apologize and thank many healthcare personnel. I am very sorry that it ended this way for him but also thankful he's found an outlet to embrace the experience and educate the public. It is a very good book that's easy to read and difficult to put aside!

Wonderful book. Adam Kay is good writer, but sounds like an even better doctor. What a loss! My daughter is a pregnant Obstetrics resident. Not sure if this would make her even more proud of the profession she has chosen, or worry more about the difficulties of pregnancy. It would be nice if everyone knew how hard a profession this was. And that pregnancy is not easy for many women. But again, separate from those issues, it is a very well written book. And well worth the read.

A truly enjoyable, sometimes hilarious, and always informative read. One caveat, though, regarding the Kindle version: The book has dozens and dozens of footnotes, most explaining or further explaining medical terms and often adding importantly details to the story. But in the kindle version, they all are at the back of the book, making it somewhere between awkward and impossible to read them as you go along. Each footnote, no matter its length, takes up a whole page. That means that the actual book ended at 88 %, making it more than abrupt for anyone used to books going until around 98 or 99 %. I read some of the footnotes, but they were no longer attachable to the reference in the body of the book. So this does subtract from the enjoyment of this otherwise entertaining book. I didn't want to subtract a star based on this structural problem.

A lot of humor amidst personal struggle to maintain oneself and keep going. I'm a retired ER nurse. I enjoyed the humor re the human condition, but not that it was primarily OB/GYN--just too narrowly focused for me. I have no idea how a non-medical person would receive this book, but it has great reviews from the same. My general impression: Lots of humor. Lots of personal stress of the author--very justified stress from loss of all kinds. And then a sudden, heart-wrenching conclusion. The author warns us at the beginning that he left the field. Still, after so much humor, the conclusion was jarring. Perhaps because there was no forewarning--no thoughts of leaving prior to it happening. And, after all the humor, the sudden ending of disaster leaves the reader searching for an overall emotion to ascribe to the read. The ending makes the book something 360 degrees different than what I thought I was spending hours reading. It's a good book, I'm just not sure whom I'd recommend it to.

‘This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries if a Junior Doctor” by Adam Kay is a tough but important read. The author starts off “After 6 years of training and a further 6 years on the wards, I resigned my job as a junior doctor. My parents still haven’t forgiven me" and finishes with “Why should anyone train to be a doctor anymore?” In between he recounts story after story of life as a medical student and trainee in obstetrics and gynecology in the UK around 2010. Between f-bombs, several stories about objects in body cavities and scrubs soaked in bodily fluids, the author weaves in his reflections on the medical profession now and where it’s going. The first 30ish pages are not engaging and I couldn’t identify with the author’s perspective but stick with the book because it comes through slowly in little hints. I finished the book thinking through the choices I’ve personally made and how tough it must have been for someone to walk away from the field he’s trained in for so long. It’s painful to be on the other side of medical training, very happy with my current career, colleagues, and choices, but remember just how hard it was to get here. The author pleas for hospitals and administration to care for the emotional wellness of physicians and all medical providers. Doctors are supposed to be superheroes and get to work no matter what but we are human too. We all need to ‘Chip away at the ingrained notion that doctors and nurses don’t need to, or shouldn’t, talk about (bad outcomes, mistakes, abuse from patients, insert more here) because that same ingrained notion is partly responsible for the huge rise in people leaving the profession, the rise in stress-related absence, illness, and…suicide. We all need someone to talk to..Care for the Carer." Excellent read. @drlorashahine

A laugh out loud book as well as a peek into the unusual private habits of the human race. I have seen similar things while working in Law Enforcement. 50% of people are just stupid or weird. This guy is a saint. A good read in any case. Government health care turns good doctors into slaves and allows bad ones to have job security. Do you want to have surgery from a person who has been awake for 30 hours straight? Not me. This would have been a four star if it had not been for the medical jargon and British colloquial phrases. The Doctor included a lot of numbered notations that are in the back of the book. However, with an Kindle book you know how impossible that is to go back and forth without losing your place.

Always love adam kay book

I laughed out loud and snorted tea out my nose so be careful not to be drinking a hot beverage when you read this book. The author lays bare the absurdities of the hospital system in the UK (which still beats the heck out of private healthcare in the US). The dangerously over-worked junior doctors, the toll on young doctors’ family life and the caring and compassionate healthcare workers who do their best to keep patients safe. I couldn’t wait to get back to the book each day. One of the best books I’ve read.

The blurb and publicity praise the book as an adorably funny satire on the hospital business. Yes, it is funny, it is set in Great Britain, mainly in gynaecology and in the British NHS healthcare system, but it is not (actually) satire. It is an exact description of a doctor's work and, apart from a few deviations (our specialist training does not follow exactly the same pattern), it can be transferred exactly to Germany, to everything that goes wrong, to everything that is a daily burden for all employees in the healthcare system. Even many of the situations that seem very strange or even absurd to outsiders have probably been experienced in the same or a similar way by almost everyone who has worked in a hospital for a few years. I am sure that they happened in exactly the same way and were not invented by the author. In particular - and this is where the book ends - it is an indictment of the complete disregard shown by politicians for the people who work in hospitals or elsewhere on a daily basis. But in the end it doesn't matter. Even our current Minister of Health, Mr Lauterbach, would probably not change anything if he were to devote his precious time to this book at all, and would probably not even feel addressed. In this respect: absolutely worth reading, but also very depressing. Not funny.

Very good wife happy

I loved this book sm. It gave me so much insight into a medical career path. It can be amusing, tiring and rewarding. Book makes u laugh and cry and question some people. GET IT