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livsliterarynook 's review for:
This is Going to Hurt was a book that I got told to read by a friend, and when I actually looked into found myself really keen to read the book because I have a bunch of friends in the medical professional. I wanted to get to know more about how much strain medical professionals face and how it affects their lives, which I think all the TV dramas and documentaries don't always show.
Adam Kay is one of many doctors and I don't want to proclaim him as a prime example of all doctors, but I think he managed to write and produce a book that was both funny, sad, and poignant. It recognised how great the NHS is and all that is achieves, but it also pointed out the pitfalls and the strain on the everyday people running the NHS.
The book itself is split up into the different roles that he took on from junior doctor to senior registrar, and within each section he has a small introduction before we are treated to snippets and excerpts from his diary throughout those years. Although none of the entries follow on from the other and there are large gaps of time between some, they all weave together to create an interesting story about his life as a doctor. There are heart-warming examples about the birth of babies and the successes of families struggling with infertility; there are funny cases about people not knowing how to put a condom on. There was also sad stories about death and loss, and struggling to manage family and friend relationships (on a personal level for Adam). These all helped to build a picture of Adam Kay's life both professionally and personally and demonstrated the kind of commitment that many medical professionals give to their job (because I am certainly aware not all individuals are alike).
There are quite a few medical terms in the book, but Kay does his best to explain and document in footnotes what those mean to the audience. I would say some knowledge of the human body/medicine in very general terms might help you understand it a little bit quicker.
Overall I though this book was very unique, interesting and a worthwhile read for a non-medical individual, who is interested in health and the NHS. I would suggest to anyone that is interested in medical memoirs, life stories and health in general.
Adam Kay is one of many doctors and I don't want to proclaim him as a prime example of all doctors, but I think he managed to write and produce a book that was both funny, sad, and poignant. It recognised how great the NHS is and all that is achieves, but it also pointed out the pitfalls and the strain on the everyday people running the NHS.
The book itself is split up into the different roles that he took on from junior doctor to senior registrar, and within each section he has a small introduction before we are treated to snippets and excerpts from his diary throughout those years. Although none of the entries follow on from the other and there are large gaps of time between some, they all weave together to create an interesting story about his life as a doctor. There are heart-warming examples about the birth of babies and the successes of families struggling with infertility; there are funny cases about people not knowing how to put a condom on. There was also sad stories about death and loss, and struggling to manage family and friend relationships (on a personal level for Adam). These all helped to build a picture of Adam Kay's life both professionally and personally and demonstrated the kind of commitment that many medical professionals give to their job (because I am certainly aware not all individuals are alike).
There are quite a few medical terms in the book, but Kay does his best to explain and document in footnotes what those mean to the audience. I would say some knowledge of the human body/medicine in very general terms might help you understand it a little bit quicker.
Overall I though this book was very unique, interesting and a worthwhile read for a non-medical individual, who is interested in health and the NHS. I would suggest to anyone that is interested in medical memoirs, life stories and health in general.