This Is Going To Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Young Doctor

Hilarious and heartbreaking at times, Kay’s memoir traces the journey of a young doctor who works for the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom. The NHS is the pride and publicly funded health-care system of England, but physician-turned-writer/comedian Kay indicates that doctors in its employ are a bit abused. Cases and quirky patients are similar for any doctor during training, and Kay settles on a specialty in obstetrics and gynecology, which he chose because he believes that if all goes well, he will end up with more patients. But it doesn’t all go well. Kay is the perfect narrator for his story. He provides the right amount of drama or incredulity to each entry. He comes across as an empathetic professional who sometimes wonders how he ended up in medicine. In the end, he passionately defends the NHS and pleads for additional support for its employees.