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A review by abipyne
This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay
emotional
funny
informative
sad
fast-paced
5.0
I absolutely loved this book. “This Is Going To Hurt” was a brilliant and incredibly important read. With a rollercoaster-fast pace and Kay’s fantastic dry wit and blunt writing, this book had me laughing out loud and welling-up from minute to minute.
Reading this in 2023 and having witness the UK government constituently undermine the NHS and belittle the unimaginable experiences of its staff throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond, this book is even more relevant now than when it was first published in 2017.
In the UK we are very quick to turn our noses up at the prospect of nurses and doctors advocating for better pay or working conditions. This is as a consequence of a bizarre and backwards notion that healthcare is not a profession but some sort of ethereal calling and so all workers should shoulder any hardships and bare them like a sort of martyr. As such, when staff do advocate for better treatment they are painted as selfish; placing their own needs in front of the needs of their patients. For anyone still struggling to feel compassion for our striking NHS workers, I prescribe them this book and a long hard look in the mirror.
Reading this in 2023 and having witness the UK government constituently undermine the NHS and belittle the unimaginable experiences of its staff throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond, this book is even more relevant now than when it was first published in 2017.
In the UK we are very quick to turn our noses up at the prospect of nurses and doctors advocating for better pay or working conditions. This is as a consequence of a bizarre and backwards notion that healthcare is not a profession but some sort of ethereal calling and so all workers should shoulder any hardships and bare them like a sort of martyr. As such, when staff do advocate for better treatment they are painted as selfish; placing their own needs in front of the needs of their patients. For anyone still struggling to feel compassion for our striking NHS workers, I prescribe them this book and a long hard look in the mirror.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Blood, Infertility, and Medical trauma