Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thought Provoking, 26 Mar 2008
Boris Johnson is quoted as saying this is "Painfully Funny" Well . . . yes and no.
Rather, it is a thoughful, well-written, worrying account of life for a junior doctor in his first after qualifying. There are actually very few genuinely laugh-out-loud moments, however the stories Dr Pemberton regales us with will make you smile, frown, laugh, almost cry . . .
If this is a true reflection of how the NHS is run - and treats it's Junior Doctors, then it is almost beyond belief that more people haven't died, and that more doctors aren't leaving in their droves.
There are stories of abuse, love, hate, fear, laughter, joy, discouragment - from colleagues and from patients. There are moments when you want to cry out in anger and frustration along with the autor. There are moments when you will laugh out loud. There are moments when you will shake your head in disbelief.
You may find yourself agreeing with the author - and others in the book - that things could be done so much better, if it wasn't for political creed and expediency - from all sides of the political spectrum.
I would recommend this book to everyone who is considering a career in medicine. I would recommend it to evey politician and management consultant. To every Clinician, nurse, medical consultant and patient (past present or future).
This book is a damning indictment of the way the NHS is run now, and it is also uplifting. It is uplifting to understand that there are still dedicated people out there who want to work in our hospitals and put up with political interfering and the aggrevation from patients and senior doctors.
Like the author I believe that the NHS is a good thing, and must be saved at all costs. However, also like the author I dispare sometimes of the way it is being treated.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Brings back memories..., 28 April 2008
This book is scarily accurate. Scary, in that it reminds me of my house officer days, and scary in that it reveals to the layman (and woman) the enormous naivety of the junior doctor on the first few days and weeks at work. However, this is not something to be hidden, and the author is to be commended for his brutal honesty. (For the record, we're not related, and I've never heard of him before, let alone met him!)
I'm not sure if this will appeal more to fellow doctors, who will remember everything Dr Pemberton all-too-well recalls, and laugh and cry at it, or to members of the public, who will see behind the eyes of the terrified junior doctor, facing disease, expectation and impossibility all at once.
I'm not sure what is meant by the contributor who thought House of God more representative of the NHS. For one, House of God is a much older book. Two, it is set in the USA. Three, it is a satire, whereas this, I promise you, is as real as life (and death) gets.
Buy it for your doctor friend, and he or she will thank you. Then borrow it.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very funny and thought provoking, 20 Feb 2008
The book is hilariously, if sometimes painfully funny! At times you wonder how anybody gets through the training to be a doctor in the first place. Max highlights the feelings and experiences of a junior doctor in his first year in hospital; sometimes terrifying, sometimes rewarding - often farcical!
Although it is very funny - it is also very thought provoking, and Max ranges from government targets to local bureaucracy, always highlighting the effect these have on patient care. This is definitely not just a book for those working in the NHS. It opened my eyes as to just how hectic and chaotic it must be for doctors and nurses. Max obviously cares deeply about the NHS and his patients. For all the scrapes he gets in to - you'd certainly want him as your doctor!
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