This is Going to Hurt (by Adam Kay)

I had never heard of Adam Kay. That’s not surprising, as ‘This is going to hurt’ was his first book. I suppose I saw it advertised on Amazon, or perhaps in someone’s home, shortly after it was published in 2017. Then I saw it bestseller lists, and award-winning books. I had no plans to buy it, until I was ordering some books on special offer earlier this year, and this one was just a couple of pounds…

I had gathered that this book is a semi-biographical and somewhat humorous diary of a junior doctor. Reviews were mostly good, but a few suggested that these diaries were self-absorbed, that the author should never have been a doctor, and that it wasn’t at all amusing. There were strong indications that it was far from politically correct, too.

I finally picked it up a few days ago. I was immediately drawn in; the author gives extensive footnotes which explain medical terms and other words that might be unfamiliar to the readers. Footnotes work well; those who know the terminology or phrases can ignore them. I knew some of the words and concepts, but found the notes well worth reading anyway; there are some cynical comments, and some random asides as well as the explanations.

I had not realised when I started that Adam Kay specialised in obstetrics and gynaecology after his first few years in medicine. So he delivered a lot of high risk babies, mostly successfully. He advised on fertility problems, did some rather gruesome surgeries at times, and generally became involved in life in the hospital. Such as it was. He stays light-hearted in the writing, most of the time, but the hours he had to put in were extensive, often more than double a standard 40-hour week.

The book gives a good insight into life as a junior doctor, and there’s some humour here and there. I didn’t laugh aloud, but I chuckled a couple of times, and smiled a few more. The amusing anecdotes are interspersed with some that are poignant, some that are depressing, some that made me cringe. But that’s the nature of the job; the diary format (albeit with considerable editing, as explained at the end) works extremely well to give the author’s viewpoint.

Clearly Adam Kay was deeply compassionate, often working well beyond anyone’s expectations, always aware that if he left early or worked too fast, people’s lives were at risk. He charts, as an aside, an ongoing relationship with someone outside the medical world who evidently becomes increasingly frustrated with being stood up on dates, having little time to talk and no possibility of going on holiday.

The book was written partly to educate the public about working for the NHS and life as a junior doctor, and I think it succeeds admirably in that aim. There is no criticism of any of the author’s colleagues; he recognises their value and importance, and seems to have been excellent both at delegating where appropriate, and taking over when he was the best person for the job.

There is much that’s politically incorrect in the book; doctors have their jargon as much as those in any other profession, and sometimes they refer to patients or departments in ways that could be considered offensive. I didn’t have a problem with it; the book was taken from personal journal entries which were not originally intended to be shared with anyone.

There’s a lot of bad language, too; rather more than I’m comfortable with; but, again, that’s the author’s style. And it’s not the kind of book I would lend to a child or young teenager anyway. Not that there are gratuitous details of the author’s work, but there are inevitably some disturbing scenes and he regularly finds himself splattered in blood and other body fluids.

If those things don't bother you, I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to know a bit more about life as a doctor.

Review copyright 2019 Sue's Book Reviews