This Is Going To Hurt by Adam Kay
Published 13th April 2018 by Picador
Non-Fiction
Book Description:
Adam Kay was a junior doctor from 2004 until 2010, before a devastating experience on a ward caused him to reconsider his future. He kept a diary throughout his training, and This Is Going to Hurt intersperses tales from the front line of the NHS with reflections on the current crisis. The result is a first-hand account of life as a junior doctor in all its joy, pain, sacrifice and maddening bureaucracy, and a love letter to those who might at any moment be holding our lives in their hands
My Review:
I must admit that I looked at this book several times before finally purchasing it after watching Zoe Ball discuss it with Ralph Little, TV star. I didn't realise that he had been to medical school before his TV career took off; his brother is also a doctor but Ralph himself gave up after about 6 weeks of gruelling long hours trying to put into practice what he was learning from the books.
I am so glad I read this book, which had me laughing out loud all the way to the last few chapters which shift into a totally different mood. The author has compiled a great compendium of funny moments during his years as a junior doctor - all patients suitably anonymised for confidentiality reasons of course. His ability to laugh at himself comes through so well as he pretty much describes his games of medical "top trumps" with his colleagues - who had the worst day/funniest moment/longest hours in order to earn the most entertainment. Some might say that this is disrespectful to the patients these doctors are seeing, but I totally support these professionals whose experiences can be so awful that the rest of us mere mortals forget that these guys and girls are just that: mere mortals just like us. Sometimes the only way to get through the awful bits is by developing a quirky sense of humour regarding the day's events.
My heart broke for the author in the last few chapters as the realisation of the toll his work life was taking on him hit home and decisions on how he was to handle things had to be made. I definitely have a better respect for those who face literally life and death situations on a daily basis, in scenarios they may never have encountered before. You can't learn everything from a book, and nothing can possibly prepare you for some of the feelings you are going to get when faced with an emergency situation with a real person's life in your hands and an audience of fellow health professionals and the patient's family relying on you to fix things. I am more than 100% certain that I could never cope in that position.
I am not a regular reader of non-fiction but I am pretty sure this book will top my list of recommendations this year. I've read some fantastic novels this year but this book is real. The things within its pages are happening day in, day out behind the doors of every hospital in the land.
Thank goodness for the NHS and every one of the angels who work for the organisation. I personally can never speak highly enough of them or express my gratitude sufficiently.
Thank you so much to the author for being strong enough to put this book together and the publisher for accepting it and putting it out there for us all to see what is happening in our NHS.
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