Book Review of 'This is going to hurt - by Adam Kay'
I found this book on one of the mundane days of the pandemic, and boom! It is by far the best book I found in the medical genre. I have recommended this to almost all of my friends, colleagues, and anyone who has shown the slightest interest in reading.
Overview of the book
Anecdotes from secret diary entries of a junior doctor in the department of obstetrics and gynaecology in NHS. Something that Kay intended to note as 'reflective practice' is now in the book. Kay tells the readers "what it's like working in the frontline", topped with an abundance of sarcasm and frankness, wiping off society's misperceptions that being a doctor is all glossy and glamorous. He unveils the ebb and flow of being in a profession that is taxing both physically and emotionally. What are even holidays and appreciation? This book has moments that make you roll on the floor laughing and painfully sad.
I recommend this book to anybody who…
Plans to join the medical profession. It gives you the much-required insight into what you are getting into. It makes you think again if you are entering for the right reasons. Nothing can sustain you through long exhausting hours, underappreciation, all the burnout and sleepless nights. You must be "able to make decisions under a terrifying amount of pressure, able to break bad news to anguished relatives, able to deal with death on a daily basis". All that you will thrive on is your patients 'thank you's, the feeling of relieving someone of their pain, being empathic to people and the privilege of connecting to them emotionally. But you can't expect to magically heal all your patients on day1. It takes courage to face failures and learn from them. Do not mistake inexperience for inability.
Are working/ have worked in this stream. You will resonate with every page of this book on a personal level and realise that working in medicine is the same in every corner of the world.
Were born. It is imperative to not be oblivious to the very process that brought you into this world and what all of our mothers had to go through for that, no matter what profession you are in. Do not worry about the medical terminology, Kay provides you with footnotes that explain every such word (his footnotes on hilarious, so do not miss even one).
On an ending note, this is going to hurt after you read it because
You’ll see how poorly doctors are treated by everyone, from the management to the patients, despite everything they do.
If you somehow got into this stream thinking it would get you a truckload of money, sorry, your bubble just got burst.
You’ll get a hernia from laughing, and that hurts!
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