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piasargent's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
4.0
alicesayshi's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content
Moderate: Mental illness, Child death, Blood, and Infertility
Minor: Cancer, Fatphobia, and Suicidal thoughts
anniewhittyk's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
belinda1979's review against another edition
5.0
Such an eye opening and well written book. It makes you laugh and cry in equal measure.
sashapasha's review against another edition
5.0
Incredibly well written collection of anecdotes that give some insight into what life is like as a doctor at the NHS — in summary, bleak. Adam Kay does wry, sarcastic humor perfectly and some of his witty remarks remind me a fair amount of Dr. House. In fact, the whole book is a bit like the short clinic scenes from House where House is forced to do regular doctor duties and see a large number of (often hilariously idiotic) patients in a short period of time.
Except Kay’s funny anecdotes are interspersed with some extremely grim and harsh realities and the refrain throughout is the question: why would anyone subject themselves to such an utterly thankless job? These doctors sacrifice their mental and physical well being and have no lives outside of work. Even if they were being paid enough (which they aren’t), they wouldn’t have any free time in which to enjoy their money.
Having friends and family in the medical profession, these themes of insane overwork and stress are not new to me, but they are one of the reasons why I’ve steered clear of the field. (That, and the unfortunate tendency to get lightheaded and feel like vomiting whenever someone is bleeding or in a large amount of pain.)
I have a friend currently in residency and the things he describes to me mirror Kay’s experiences to a tee. One particularly absurd catch-22: his program is short staffed (not enough residents), which results in the residents all working longer than the legal limit (there are now laws to limit shift lengths and frequencies) and lying about it in the paperwork. When I asked why they couldn’t just hire more residents to the program, he replied that the program was on probation. “What for?” I asked. “Because people have been lying about the number of hours they’re working.”
Except Kay’s funny anecdotes are interspersed with some extremely grim and harsh realities and the refrain throughout is the question: why would anyone subject themselves to such an utterly thankless job? These doctors sacrifice their mental and physical well being and have no lives outside of work. Even if they were being paid enough (which they aren’t), they wouldn’t have any free time in which to enjoy their money.
Having friends and family in the medical profession, these themes of insane overwork and stress are not new to me, but they are one of the reasons why I’ve steered clear of the field. (That, and the unfortunate tendency to get lightheaded and feel like vomiting whenever someone is bleeding or in a large amount of pain.)
I have a friend currently in residency and the things he describes to me mirror Kay’s experiences to a tee. One particularly absurd catch-22: his program is short staffed (not enough residents), which results in the residents all working longer than the legal limit (there are now laws to limit shift lengths and frequencies) and lying about it in the paperwork. When I asked why they couldn’t just hire more residents to the program, he replied that the program was on probation. “What for?” I asked. “Because people have been lying about the number of hours they’re working.”
mayankshah's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
The cover of this book has two quotes on it: "Painfully funny" and "Heartbreaking" and these two quotes sum up this book pretty perfectly.
In the UK, we hear every day about the troubles the NHS is facing and how broken the system is, and how it is only getting worse, not due to the people working for the NHS but due to decisions made by politicians. It feels completely different hearing about this from someone who lived inside the system and experienced everything that was broken about the system.
The author's personality shines through the book: both hilarious and compassionate in equal measures. Some of the stories he tells make us laugh while others, particularly the last one, made me cry. He does an incredible job of telling his story in such a beautifully heartbreaking way.
I wish the book was longer just so I could enjoy it for longer but I appreciate how effective the short form format of the book is. It makes me want to recommend this book to everybody I know in the UK, regardless of whether they read often or not.
Absolutely wonderful and worth a read for anyone, particularly if you live in the UK!
In the UK, we hear every day about the troubles the NHS is facing and how broken the system is, and how it is only getting worse, not due to the people working for the NHS but due to decisions made by politicians. It feels completely different hearing about this from someone who lived inside the system and experienced everything that was broken about the system.
The author's personality shines through the book: both hilarious and compassionate in equal measures. Some of the stories he tells make us laugh while others, particularly the last one, made me cry. He does an incredible job of telling his story in such a beautifully heartbreaking way.
I wish the book was longer just so I could enjoy it for longer but I appreciate how effective the short form format of the book is. It makes me want to recommend this book to everybody I know in the UK, regardless of whether they read often or not.
Absolutely wonderful and worth a read for anyone, particularly if you live in the UK!