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  • This Is Going to Hurt

  • Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor
  • By: Adam Kay
  • Narrated by: Adam Kay
  • Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (2,588 ratings)

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This Is Going to Hurt

By: Adam Kay
Narrated by: Adam Kay
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Publisher's Summary

Winner of a record three National Book Awards: Non-Fiction Book of the Year, New Writer of the Year and Zoe Ball Book Club Book of the Year.

The million-copy best seller. 

Welcome to the life of a junior doctor: 97-hour weeks, life-and-death decisions, a constant tsunami of bodily fluids and the hospital parking meter earns more than you.

Scribbled in secret after endless days, sleepless nights and missed weekends, Adam Kay's This Is Going to Hurt provides a no-holds-barred account of his time on the NHS front line. Hilarious, horrifying and heartbreaking, this diary is everything you wanted to know - and more than a few things you didn't - about life on and off the hospital ward.

Sunday Times number-one best seller and Humour Book of the Year.

This edition includes extra diary entries and a new afterword by the author. 

©2017 Adam Kay (P)2017 Macmillan Digital Audio

Critic Reviews

"Painfully funny. The pain and the funniness somehow add up to something entirely good, entirely noble and entirely loveable." (Stephen Fry)

What listeners say about This Is Going to Hurt

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    5 out of 5 stars

Not for the prudish but well written/read

DISCLAIMER: If you are at all squeemish about language or such. Don't read this book. The author is a former Obstetrics and Gynaecology doctor so his anecdotes generally relate to the private regions of both genders, birthing, fertility and related activities. His language is... shall we say "colourful" at times.

Having said that, he brings a window into the world of a "junior" doctor and the impact that has on their lives, relationships and mental health, in a fresh and amusing way. I put "junior" doctor in quotation marks because he rises up the ranks with around 6 years clinical experience but "junior" apparently refers to anyone below consultant.

I enjoyed the fact that he used Harry Potter pseudonyms for anonymity and linked them somewhat to the characters. Particularly unpleasant patients or superiors shared names with death eaters, annoying ministry officials took the names of annoying ministry of magic employees, an early tutor was "Professor Flitwick" and Adam's best friend was Ron Weasley.

Most of the book takes a light hearted look, and somewhat sarcastic jab, at the NHS. In fact the book was born out of a comedy act which sought to redress what Adam felt was an unfair portrayal of junior doctors by politicians. However, it ends with quite a serious explanation of his departure and a very clear expression of his feelings about the NHS vs Junior Doctors disputes of 2015/2016. As a teacher in NZ facing similar industrial disputes I found I identified with much of what he was saying in this section. Obviously not the level of consequence/responsibility doctors carry, but many of the other aspects like a workload in compatible with a personal life (although for NHS doctors it's far worse), serious understaffing, underfunding causing issues with patient (or, for us, student) care, the government's blame game, and the stress caused by unfair expectations, to name just a few.

Overall, I felt this was an accurate representation which had the ring of truth. Adam clearly has a gift for comedy and writing as well as the intelligence for medicine.

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27 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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10/10 recommend this!

Where does This Is Going to Hurt rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

By far one of the most memorable books I have listened to.

What other book might you compare This Is Going to Hurt to, and why?

Eye opening, witty and very raw. The dry and straight faced humor is second to none.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I LOL'ed...and I sat in sad silence.

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Witty, but profound in many ways.

Worth a look at, especially for those who have aspirations of status and medical prestige.

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Laugh out loud funny

Great book
This generation’s House of God
Funny and poignant.
Who would want to be a Dr in the NHS?

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4 people found this helpful

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Hang in there

I nearly turned away and discontinued listening to this book (when initially presuming it to be little more than the indulgent diary entries of an overly privileged, private school twat). I’m so glad to have been proven wrong (and having learned a lesson about my own internalised biases in the process). Listen to the very end, including the additional ‘bits’. The open letter left me in tears; the same neoliberal violence is done to social services such as health and education in Australia. This is a rallying cry for collective health, well-being and care.

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3 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Great dinner party stories

Adam Kay would be a fun guest at a dinner party. He offers plenty of laughs about what patients put in their orofices and the funny, rude and outrageous things they say. He also talks about the tough conditions NHS doctors put up with. Most concerning is the extreme sleep deprivation and constant stress that seems to be a daily feature. While his memoirs will make you smile frequently and laugh regularly I think he missed an opportunity to give the issues he raises more substance. Nevertheless there are a number of anecdotes I’ve already repeated to my family.

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A great listen

Having worked as a nurse most of my working life I can identify and giggle at the many situations described. Doctors and nurses develop a strange sense of humour which non health personnel do not understand but this humour is often all that keeps you sane. Sad though that may be!
The public demand care for every single ailment know to man without knowing, or wanting to know the extreme pressures on staff.
Of course this is not true of everyone some people are so appreciative of the care and attention given and understand the delays that so often occur.
These are the people that make your day worthwhile.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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So entertaining!

I howled laughing, my mouth hung open in disbelief and I gagged at parts! Perfect!

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2 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Struggled to finish

Didn't appeal to my sense of humour. Found the story a little dull, but enlightening all the same.

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  • Ian
  • 03-03-2019

One of the best books

This is a great story. Hilarious, fast paced, down to earth and extremely well narrated. Yes there are a few rude words but only necessary ones, like the appropriate name for the ambulance chasing legal firm. But there is a poignant message at the end which should be a wake up call for everyone about the challenges our medical professionals face, and not just under the NHS. I have read a lot of great books on Audible but this is right up there with the best and one that had me laughing so hard.

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