Christine's Reviews > This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor

This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay
Rate this book
Clear rating

by
26175098
's review

it was amazing
bookshelves: nonfiction, libby-has, medical

5 big stars!

Being a retired physician and needing something light after finishing a heart-wrenching novel, this one caught my eye. It promised some laughs and I thought it would also be a chance to see how my brutal residency and fellowship programs in the US compared to an NHS (universal health as opposed to private) program in Great Britain.

Without any exaggeration whatsoever, I have to say this book gave me more laugh-out-loud moments than any other book I’ve ever read!! It was so good (or bad, depending on your perspective, like my wife’s) that I had to stay on the other side of the house while reading this in order not to disturb Jean with the hilarity of it all. A few reviewers took offense to some of the humor, and I admit a bit of it may be construed as irreverent, but it made me happy! It’s hard to find happy in the world today, so I’m not going to apologize for how much I love Adam Kay’s sense of humor.

This memoir is for the most part constructed as a series of anecdotes. At first, I wasn’t sure if that would work for me, but it took virtually no time to ditch that concern. During Adam’s training, he would make notes of all the notable events that happened each day, which made it easy for him to put his memoir together several years later. The book does have its serious moments. The young physicians in training sacrificed so much. They frequently worked over 100 hours/week with no extra pay added to their measly salaries. Time worked over what was expected contractually was considered free labor, and that was the norm rather than the exception. That was bad enough, but under no circumstances were these young doctors granted special time off. One woman had to work the morning of her wedding day. Your mother dies and you want to go to her funeral? Tough, if you are on the work schedule. Many personal relationships are broken during these training years. You have essentially no other life.

There were times that Adam thought about changing career goals, especially when facing difficult life and death decisions while severely sleep deprived. The stress could be immense. But he kept going. He loved his job, though there was obviously too much of it. He discovered there is nothing better than making a difference in someone else’s life, especially if you actually save that someone’s life. I know that feeling—it’s the major thrust that keeps you going. Of note, there is minimal positive reinforcement from the system. Whatever little you get comes from the patients or their families or even just from yourself when you know you did a great job with a patient. But again, that all comes with huge sacrifices in terms of finances, personal relationships, and your own mental health.

I could really relate to all of this, though overall I believe the NHS program was a tougher place to survive than my program at the Mayo Clinic. Adam Kay has my deepest respect.

If you are need of some humor accompanied by an eye-opening look at the sheer dedication of young doctors in training, this is the book for you. I highly recommend it.
82 likes · flag

Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read This is Going to Hurt.
Sign In »

Reading Progress

December 15, 2019 – Shelved
December 15, 2019 – Shelved as: to-read
December 15, 2019 – Shelved as: nonfiction
October 25, 2020 – Shelved as: libby-has
March 28, 2022 – Shelved as: medical
April 6, 2022 – Started Reading
April 8, 2022 – Finished Reading

Comments Showing 1-21 of 21 (21 new)

dateDown arrow    newest »

Diane S ☔ I loved this one too. Humorous and impactful. Super review, Christine.


message 2: by PamG (new)

PamG Fantastic review, Christine!


Christine Diane S ☔ wrote: "I loved this one too. Humorous and impactful. Super review, Christine."

Thanks, Diane! I haven’t had a lot of pure 5s this year, but this one made the grade totally on the way it made me feel.


Christine PamG wrote: "Fantastic review, Christine!"

Thanks, Pam!


The Cats’ Mother I loved this too - there was so much that reminded me of my own hospital training years. Did you know they’ve made a TV series of it - not available here yet but I definitely want to watch it when it is. Awesome review 😎


Christine The Cats’ Mother wrote: "I loved this too - there was so much that reminded me of my own hospital training years. Did you know they’ve made a TV series of it - not available here yet but I definitely want to watch it when ..."

I know! It was incredibly realistic, wasn’t it? And yes on the TV series. I would love to see that. Let’s let each other know if we hear anything. Thanks, Jo!


Nigel But he ended up quitting! I found him quite arrogant, but liked the book a bit more than I thought I would


message 8: by Christine (last edited Apr 09, 2022 04:42PM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Christine Nigel wrote: "But he ended up quitting! I found him quite arrogant, but liked the book a bit more than I thought I would"

For anyone who is wondering, that’s not a spoiler as that’s known right off the bat. He got a great offer to use his book as a launching pad for a TV medical comedy series. I think he earned the right to do that. He explains what led him to end his medical career, which I found poignant. I liked Adam.


message 9: by Melanie (new)

Melanie Excellent review Christine! I’m adding to the wish list. I know you were a physician but I don’t think I’ve asked what type. I’ve been a surgery scheduler for years. The last 10 or so with a group of colon/rectal surgeons. I will say no more of the stories…..😁


Bonnie G. I don't have the personal knowledge that you bring to this one, but I also loved it. We nondoctors sometimes forget how very human doctors are. Kay made himself so vulnerable and exposed some (literally) fatal flaws in the business of medicine.


message 11: by Lisa (new) - added it

Lisa Vegan Christine, Great review! It's on my to read list so I'm glad you know that you enjoyed it.


message 12: by G.J. (new) - rated it 3 stars

G.J. Oh, I am one of those who didn’t find it funny ! Isn’t it great how we all respond so differently to words :-)


☮Karen Excellent review, Christine. I enjoyed his humor and was very sad how it turned out for him.


message 14: by Zoeytron (new)

Zoeytron I love how your review brought this full circle. Pleased that you enjoyed it and just how much you could relate to it. I find it interesting that the title (if taken literally) belies the humor you found inside. Entertaining review, Christine!


Christine Melanie wrote: "Excellent review Christine! I’m adding to the wish list. I know you were a physician but I don’t think I’ve asked what type. I’ve been a surgery scheduler for years. The last 10 or so with a group ..."

😂😂😂 Melanie!! I bet you have some good ones! My specialty was infectious diseases so I have a few stories too. Thanks for liking my review—I strongly suspect you will enjoy this one. Do you use an e-reader at all? The Libby app got me a copy from the southeast MN group.


Christine Bonnie G. wrote: "I don't have the personal knowledge that you bring to this one, but I also loved it. We nondoctors sometimes forget how very human doctors are. Kay made himself so vulnerable and exposed some (lite..."

Bonnie, I was impressed by how open he was. I would to have lunch with him someday.


Christine Lisa wrote: "Christine, Great review! It's on my to read list so I'm glad you know that you enjoyed it."

Great, Lisa! I hope you laugh as hard as I did!


message 18: by Christine (last edited Apr 10, 2022 06:33AM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Christine G.J. wrote: "Oh, I am one of those who didn’t find it funny ! Isn’t it great how we all respond so differently to words :-)"

Absolutely, G.J. Individual senses of humor are on a huge spectrum. There are some types of humor that are really hard for me to even smile at. I do think medical people use it a lot to relieve some of the significant stress that comes with the job.


message 19: by Christine (last edited Apr 10, 2022 06:35AM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Christine ☮Karen wrote: "Excellent review, Christine. I enjoyed his humor and was very sad how it turned out for him."

Yeah, I think there are cases like that for virtually every doctor, Karen. No one wants to hurt their patients even unintentionally.


Christine Zoeytron wrote: "I love how your review brought this full circle. Pleased that you enjoyed it and just how much you could relate to it. I find it interesting that the title (if taken literally) belies the humor you..."

Thanks so much, Zoey. I think humor is a necessity within this profession. it’s a pressure cooker. Humor always makes me feel so much better when things are tense (like the state of our world these days).


message 21: by Louise (new) - added it

Louise Wilson Terrific review Christine!! Sounds like my kind of book!


back to top