Undoctored: The Story of a Medic Who Ran Out of Patients by Adam Kay

Undoctored: The Story of a Medic Who Ran Out of Patients Reviews

• 
  Petra has forgotten what being in love feels like

  This book looks like being no. 2 in a trilogy. The first book covering the author's journey as a medical student, then doctor, then to leaving medicine is
  This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor. This book is from when he left medicine to establishing himself as a comedian and writer and happily married gay man on the verge of parenthood (with lots of flashbacks about being a student or doctor). And the third will be the successful, if angst-ridden author and hopefully, father. I look forward to reading it.
  
  This book begins with the best disclaimer I've ever read

  Colleagues and friends have been anonymised in this book by replacing their names with members of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, an organisation which I'm pretty sure has no lawyers. Anonymising my family would have been harder, so I haven't bothered.

  I didn't like the book to begin with, if felt like the author was trying too hard with at least one jokey sentence per paragraph. Either I got used to it and it ceased to annoy, or he stopped doing it. It's not the sort of book I want to reread, so I'm not going back to check.
  
  The author makes himself extremely vulnerable and you have to feel for him. I don't want to write what happens and I believe that an adult who needs trigger-warnings should best stick to books for the under 10s. He has a real talent for writing who he is, quite flawed but doing his best, making mistakes and trying not to make more, without either glorification or making you feel sorry for him. Having empathy is not the same thing as feeling sorry for.
  
  When Kay gets sick in the US and has to go to hospital, he is faced with medical choices - to have an x-ray (and extra $1,000), superglue (no scar and expensive) or stitches (scar but cheaper) and has no option but to take the less expensive route. He thinks his insurance will cover it though and he will get reimbursed. But since insurance companies are legalised forms of the sort of protection organised crime offers, they aren't paying out if there is a way to avoid it. As they did.

  I didn’t envy the doctors either. Having to bring cost into the equation when advising patients just doesn’t feel … proper, and I’m enormously thankful I never had to do it during my medical career. Whatever the NHS’s failings, there’s no fairer way to decide who to treat than ‘everyone’ and no better way to treat them all than ‘equally’. Meanwhile, in the US, healthcare is not a human right but a commodity to be haggled over with insurance companies..

  And as he says

  The availability and affordability of healthcare remains Americans’ number one concern in poll after poll, with two thirds of US bankruptcies having healthcare bills as a contributory factor. Less than half of Americans can afford an unexpected medical bill of a thousand dollars, which, if my experience in Florida is anything to go by, probably wouldn’t cover much more than a couple of Nurofen and a Band-Aid.

  Later, the cat he shares with his ex-wife gets really sick and they are told £6,000 for the operation that will cure him. Since Kay has been paying out on health insurance for cat, he's pretty sure that a call to the insurance company will only be a formality. Of course it isn't, there is small print. Claim denied. But they will pay out to have the little kitty, just three years old, put to sleep. And they have no money, so they have no choice. Heart-breaking.
  
  At the end of the book, reflecting on it, I enjoyed it more than I did actually reading it. That's the second time in a row I've had that experience - yesterday it was with
  Sorry For Your Loss: What Working with the Dead Taught Me About Life so I can't tell if it's the books or me! If you enjoyed
  This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor you might enjoy this one. It's quite different, a whole lot more introspective, and much less episodic. Enjoyable, without a doubt.
  __________
  
  I was charged $125 for snipping four stitches out in January. It took just under two minutes including settling into the chair and getting up and saying thank you. $225 for snipping out about 6 stitches and doing a small procedure that took less than five minutes. The last time (a few weeks ago) there were about 8 stitches in my mouth and the dentist (always a different one, depends where I am) said, gasp, I won't charge you...
  
  Back in 2017, stuck in Marco Island in Florida unable to get home because Irma had destroyed my island, Walgren's fulfilled a prescription for me. On the island, where medications were not subsidised I paid $19.60 for them every month. One of the items was $6. Walgren's charged me just over $200. George Bush had told the drug companies they could charge whatever they wanted. So they do.
• 
  Taegen

  Definitely not as "enjoyable" as Kays previous books. The first few chapters were hilarious as expected but soon fizzled and became legitimately depressing. It was confronting and sad to read through his post medicine stories as well as the flash backs.
  
  It's difficult to review this because it wasn't bad, just that Kay has set himself up to be "the funny guy" and a lot of unfunny things happened to him that are uncomfortable to unpack and were unexpected.
• 
  Kate Henderson

  **Listened to the audio book**
  
  I adore Adam Kay, and have read all of his books - well listened to them on audio. I even got my Dad into them too. Kay is just so funny. You hang on his every word, and he has the ability to make you laugh as well as cry.
  This book is slightly different from his other 'memoirs' - it feels a lot more personal and really delves deep into Kay's mental health and post traumatic stress. It looks at Adam Kay as a person, rather than anecdotes within his career within the NHS.
  There are still the laughter moments but there are a lot more tender moments within this book. I think this is Adam Kays' most emotional and honest book - I reckon Kay would say the same too.
  
  Enjoyed this book, despite the hard subject matters. I thoroughly recommend listening to the audio version too. I also would say that you should read Adam Kay's other books before this one, just for context - but you don't need to have read them to enjoy the book.
• 
  Hamad

  
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  I read Adam’s previous two books: The first as a medical student on the verge of graduation, the second as a medical intern and now I am reading his third book as a resident and it certainly hit closest to home.
  
  The great thing about this book is that it can be enjoyed by all people whether they are in the medical field or not but I am pretty sure it will impact you more if you are in the medical field. This is a series of Kay’s stories after he left medicine with multiple flashbacks to his life as a medical student and resident and even a specialist.
  
  One of my closest friends left medicine school after 3 years and it is funny how the society looked at him as if he was doing the biggest atrocity out there while everyone in the school itself were pretty sure it was the best decision -and they were all a bit envious-
  
  As I said before, I liked Kay’s previous books but in my opinion this was the most well written one because it showed how he improved as a writer and a comedian and the way it was edited was so well done and the flow was immaculate which made me appreciate it even more.
  
  And despite all the humor and funny moments there is a criticism at the job and the medical system which I believe is universal and not confined to the UK. I did not know Kay was queer and another thing that made me a bit confused was how he talked a lot about being in a tight spot with money despite his books having sold million of copies -to be fair most of it was prior to him becoming very successful as an author-
  
  Overall, a funny memoir that is still powerful and personal and I am happy that Kay is thriving now and I will be looking forward for his next book.
• 
  Stephen

  Funny look at the authors medical career and other stories
• 
  Zaczytana.Querida

  Siedzę na podłodze szpitalnego korytarza i mrużę oczy od oślepiająco jasnego światła jarzeniówek. Mniejsze i większe grupy studentów w fartuchach mijają mnie z obojętnym wzrokiem. Ktoś gdzieś wybucha śmiechem. Ktoś wpatruje się w sufit i recytuje pod nosem to, czego uczył się całą noc. Ktoś potyka się o mój but i biegnie dalej, nawet na mnie nie spoglądając. Tłoczą się i rozmawiają.
  Siedzę sama i czuję ukłucie żalu do samej siebie, że nie potrafię być taka, jak oni. Odruchowo sprawdzam, czy w mojej torbie na pewno jest fartuch, jakby kiedykolwiek istniała możliwość, że mogłoby go tam nie być.
  
  Biorę do rąk książkę i obserwuję roześmianych znajomych. Odkładam lekturę na kolana i opieram głowę o zimną ścianę. „Gdybym miała takie miejsce, w którym mogłabym mówić o książkach…” - myślę. Zerkam na zegarek - 8:10. Zajęcia zaczynają się za 5 minut. Podnoszę się i idę do sali.
  Pod pachą ściskam „Będzie bolało”.
  
  👨‍⚕️ „Nielekarz, czyli jak wyleczyłem się z medycyny” - Adam Kay 👨‍⚕️
  
  Ta książka była dla mnie jak podróż w czasie. Nie tak daleko, bo 5 lat wstecz, a jednak wystarczająco daleko, by zmieniło się wszystko. Przez te kilka godzin znowu byłam studentką pierwszego roku przepełnioną mieszanką strachu i ekscytacji. Przypomniałam sobie dokładnie zajęcia, przed którymi czytałam pierwszą książkę autora. Adam Kay wrócił do mnie po latach i poklepał mnie po ramieniu, a ja aż do wczoraj nie wiedziałam, jak bardzo tego potrzebowałam.
  
  W trakcie lektury zapisałam w notatniku zdanie:
  „Niepokojąco trafna i znajoma.”
  Czułam, że odbijam się w Adamie jak w lustrze. Że dzieliliśmy lub dzielimy te same lęki. Że tak samo (nie)radziliśmy sobie z pewnymi sprawami. Bawił mnie i wzruszał, bo trafiał dokładnie tam, gdzie miał trafić.
  
  Myślę, że to pozycja obowiązkowa dla każdego miłośnika książek związanych z tematami medycznymi. Kiedyś czytałam ich naprawdę dużo, lepszych lub gorszych. Przeczytanie tej było jak wejście do domu, z którego wyszło się wiele lat temu, a w którym zupełnie nic się nie zmieniło, co jest kojące i niepokojące jednocześnie. W tej książce po prostu byłam u siebie. Byłam tam, gdzie od dawna bałam się zajrzeć. Moje serce podzielone na dwie równe części - medyczną i literacką, biło zdecydowanie szybciej, gdy chłonęło to, co kocha.
  
  Adam Kay chce przekazać nam coś ważnego. Pod grubą warstwą humoru mówi o sprawach najtrudniejszych i najdelikatniejszych. Ta mieszanka żartu i lęku układa się w najszczerszą historię, jaką przeczytałam od dawna.
  
  Polecam❤️
  Zaczytana Querida
• 
  leah

  this book is strictly embargoed until publication so i can’t say much - but it’s as equal parts funny and gross as you’d expect an
  Adam Kay book to be.
• 
  Literatura Niepoważna

  3/5
  Z jednej strony żarty, które bawiły mnie w 2017 roku teraz wydają mi się mało śmieszne, ale z drugiej uważam, że każdy biol-chem, który uważa, że jego życie straci sens jeśli nie dostanie się na lekarski, powinien to przeczytać.
  A i ewidentnie jest dla ludzi, którzy czytali już jakąś poprzednią książkę autora i medycyny tu nie ma za dużo, bardziej podchodzi pod autobiografię.
• 
  Marika_reads

  Powiem wam szczerze - sama pewnie bym tej książki nie kupiła. Nie czytałam też poprzedniego hitu autora „Będzie bolało”, a mam wrażenie, że czytało ją ogrom ludzi. Ale jak wydawnictwo zaproponowało mi współpracę przy tym tytule, to stwierdziłam why not, spróbuję - i tak oto, przeczytałam ją na dwa posiedzenia, co chwila parskając śmiechem.
  „Nielekarz. Jak wyleczyłem się z medycyny” to historia życia Adama Kay’a po porzuceniu medycyny (nie miałam pojęcia, że nie jest już lekrzem) i rozpoczęcia kariery komika (też nie miałam o tym pojęcia, a jak już o niewiedzy wspominam, to nie wiedziałam też, że Adam Kay ma polskie korzenie, jego dziadkowie uciekli z kraju w związku z prześladowaniami Żydów).
  Opowiada więc trochę o początkach na studiach, o grzebaniu w ludzkim cieke, o praktykach w szpitalach czy o kolejnych specjalizacjach, które wydawały mu sie totalnie nie dla niego. No i w końcu o tym, jak dążył do bycia komikiem, a potem pisarzem (ku zdziwieniu bliskich). Nie wiem czy brzmi to dla was ciekawie, ale polecam bo książka jest po prostu okrutnie śmieszna, pełno tu czarnego humoru, trochę cringe’u i jechania po bandzie. Oj nie wszystkim się to spodoba, miejscami serio jest grubo (xD), ale ja złapałam bakcyla i dzięki temu spędziłam kilka godzin z uśmiechem na twarzy. Najbardziej polubiłam jego dygresje w przypisach (a jest ich tu sporo) - są znakomite!
  Ale pod tą całą otoczką śmiechu i żartów, książka jest też niezwykle osobista, momentami smutna i czuła - historia z babcią dowiadującą się, że Adam jest gejem i jest w szczęśliwym zwiazku z meżczyzną 🥹. I na koniec jest też bardzo cenne przesłanie, że czasami warto rzucić wszystko i zacząć robić to co się kocha, nawet jeśli wszyscy w koło ci tego odradzają. No i oczywiście nie mogę nie wspomnieć o innej puencie od autora: strzeż się bycia lekarzem!
• 
  Tanja Berg

  I like the author as he presents himself more than the book. This is a memoir of his life after leaving the NHS, with some flash backs to his days as a student and junior doctor. We're taking through the cumbersome process of becoming a writer and comedian, and some devastating truths from the author's life are revealed. The content is quite raw and upsetting in places, and this makes some of the comedy and funny bits feel forced. Of course, Dr. Kay admits that comedy is a shield he has learned to hide behind.
  
  I also find it admirable that the author tries to better the situations for health care workers in the UK, who are straining under an impossible load. Not that the problem is simply located there, also here in Norway GPs are leaving their professions in droves because the workload is impossible to negate over time. Politicians stand there and do nothing while society is ever more divided into those who can afford private care - often through generous private insurance from employers - and those who cannot. That is, often those would really, desperately need it. I dread the US standard of medicine - where you are just one serious illness or accident away from being homeless - being brought down on the rest of the world.
• 
  Rebecca

  A lot has happened to Adam Kay since he left medicine, and even since he wrote
  This Is Going to Hurt; only some of it has made it into the books he's published since then (
  Twas the Nightshift before Christmas and two books for children,
  Kay's Anatomy and
  Kay's Marvellous Medicine). I've read all of these and there were still things here that surprised me. I knew he is now married to a man named James, having been married to a woman he calls H in his first book; whatever, none of my business, but I presumed he was bi or his orientation had changed. Instead, he reveals that he was gay all along (had known he was since childhood, had even come out to his parents during his uni years), but still went along with a heterosexual marriage with all the best intentions. To an extent, he was doing what his parents expected of him, just as he was in following in his GP father's footsteps instead of pursuing music.
  
  There are trigger warnings given on the copyright page for some horrible stuff Kay has been through, including pregnancy loss while married to H and being raped at a bathhouse in New Zealand, where he'd travelled very briefly for a stand-up comedy gig. He also suffered from eating disorders during medical school after a one-night stand called him a "big lad" and has had body issues ever since. These are things we rarely hear men talking about, so bravo to him for being brave enough to speak out. In his own life, though, he bottled it all up for far too long. It's a constant source of frustration for his husband that Kay ignores medical problems until they become crises: a slipped disc and a bladder stone, but also PTSD for all of the above. Finally, he tells his GP and gets help.
  
  The chapters feel like stand-alone thematic essays, alternating between more recent events (holiday mishaps, having a stalker, odd things that have happened in comedy gigs or at book signings, figuring out the protocol for a man proposing to another man, their journey towards parenthood, etc.) and scenes from his earlier life, the latter headed "FLASHBACK" and printed in bold. These tend to be weightier, revealing just how traumatic his time in medicine was and how unsupported he felt by colleagues and family.
  
  But, if you've read anything by Kay, you know that even when the subject matter is horrific or sad, he is very, very funny. The humour is often on the raunchy side here, but there are also moments of raw honesty. He puts it this way: "I've never thought of those two theatre masks as comedy and tragedy, more as how I present myself on stage versus how I actually feel." The structure of the book makes it very easy and even addictive to read. And, like in his children's books, there are some fun running gags: his made-up metaphor "like a wolf on a panini," and faking an anglicisation "replace-all"-gone-wrong to turn participants into "particitrousers."
  
  A favourite passage, about going through his stuff in his parents' attic and finding his half-skeleton from medical school:
  
  "I bought mine from a student a few years ahead of me and named him Dave (after my beloved Duchovny). Much like anyone I brought back to my bedroom in those days, I had no idea what to do with him once he was there, so he just sat sulking creepily in the corner, like an emaciated emo teen. I took his skull from the landfill of my past and held it in my right hand. Alas, poor Dave -- I didn't know him at all. Had he consented to this particular afterlife? Did his surviving family have any idea that their great-great-grandfather's remains had been used and in some cases -- let's not deny it -- abused by an endless line of doctors-to-be? What was his job? Was he happy? Did he dance? Did he call it a bread roll or a bap? An entire life, right there in the palm of my hand."
• 
  Saloni (earnestlyeccentric)

  Adam leaves his job as a doctor in the NHS to become a writer (and comedian). 
  
  Spoilers ahead.
  
  I had this morning all planned out. I was going to sit in the registration room for my exam, blissfully reading this book with the cover for all to see. And if someone asked what I was reading (because people ALWAYS feel the need to ask me what I'm reading even if the cover is out to see), I'd say I was planning alternative routes for the future in case medicine didn't work out. Unfortunately, this book was so good (and my brain so tired from placements) that I finished it on the bus yesterday. So. Yeah, no statement was made there. In other news, I can confidently say I failed my semester one exam (thank god it was a practice test). 
  
  Undoctored was every bit as hilarious as I expected it to be, if not more given the subject matter. It certainly helped that, rather than random Harry Potter characters, everyone was named after MCU characters. It details Adam's (yes, first name basis) life after leaving medicine including:
  
  - Coming out to his family (I was confused about this because I thought he had already come out and that H, his partner from This Is Going to Hurt was a man, I think I probably got the TV show mixed up)
  - Navigating his relationship with his new partner J
  - Recovering from PTSD
  - Sexual assault
  - Disordered eating
  - Figuring out how the hell one launches a writing/comedy career
  
  Plus, every few chapters or so, there was a short flashback to his time as a doctor or medical student. 
  
  I was hooked from the first page. Indeed, the first chapter was about dissections and how Adam sucked his bleeding thumb after touching a cadaver (BIG NONO. We don't do dissections here at Edinburgh, we get to see prosections instead. I've heard pros and cons for both but it seems that dissections actually help you learn better and given that anatomy is the bane of my existence, I wonder if I would have enjoyed those practicals more in semester one of my first year. To this day, anatomy is a complete blind spot for me because the pandemic cancelled all our labs and I didn't bother committing everything to memory when the exams were open book. Of course, this totally bit me back in the arse. Case in point: this morning's exam.
  
  I should say that given I'm a medic, this review will most likely be very medicine-centred. That's not to say I didn't enjoy reading all the other bits, just that I have something more tangible to say about medicine. You know us medics, it's always about medicine.
  
  Adam writes about how there's a certain homogeneity among medics. He explained how one of the consultants during placement forced him to cut his hair short and wouldn't allow painted nails. You're not supposed to stand out in a hospital. There's a certain image doctors are meant to project and medical students are held to the same standard--formal clothing in GP surgeries, scrubs (but NEVER outside a hospital because god-forbid how patients would react to that...okay, also because of infection control and all that), no outrageous coloured hair, no painted nails, formal footwear, no jewellery. I do think the rules are relaxing a bit. I know one girl in my year who dyed her hair red and I don't think she's faced any disciplinary action. There are also more tattoos among doctors and nurses! Though my own tattoos have been frowned upon by some elderly patients. 
  
  I could relate so much to Adam's initial isolation at university.
  
  

  When secondary school came around, I became a wide-eyed, wide-beaked gosling, force-fed the corn that would eventually lead to its starring role in a foie gras starter. My evenings, weekends and holidays were stuffed with exam revision, interview practice, work experience and med-school-mandated extra-curricular activities. There definitely wasn't any time for spare socialising. [...] Sometimes, the loneliest feelings of all don't come from total isolation but from being on the edge of the cword, watching the rest of the world live its life, as if it's happening on television and not three feet away from you in the canteen. But I told myself that maybe this was just what adulthood was like sometimes.

  
  
  I was the same way in school. I will say that a lot of it was self-imposed because I intentionally put my life on hold by saying that I'd find friends in medical school who were like-minded. I came and there wasn't much of a difference in the type of people; worse, because we weren't forced into close proximity for eight hours every single day, it was harder to make friends. I do consider myself relatively proactive and I did make friends (though I often do still feel lonely). However, when hanging out with people, I catch myself falling into the same trap of "oh my Gods, I have work to do and I can't afford to become besties with this person if they expect me to hang out with them every weekend." My first thought is always how little time I will have left to study. 
  
  Speaking of extracurriculars, medicine really is all about privilege. I know I wouldn't have made my way here without all the private classes my parents were able to afford. But, much like Adam, I can't help feeling a tiny bit defensive.
  
  

  I couldn't deny that doors had been opened for me but I'd definitely put in the work once I'd walked through them. The ceaseless studying, the endless after-school classes, the timetable of extra-curricular activities that would give any Olympic athlete a nervo.

  
  
  I do think medical schools need to change the way they rank applicants. It's unfair to expect everyone can afford to learn an instrument, do extra tuition classes and shoehorn themselves into a hospital for shadowing experience (you need contacts for that). 
  
  I loved how Adam deconstructed the importance of GPs in the NHS. While at medical school, Adam had to spend a month living with a GP while shadowing them at their surgery. It's astounding how many patients GPs see in a day, and it's SUCH a packed schedule too with home visits. I remember my GP block was SO intense. The days that I was on placement were jam-packed with patient after patient, all with illnesses affecting different parts of their body. I would be stuck on a cardio patient when the current patient sitting in the room had a viral respiratory tract infection. To this day I don't understand how GPs manage to keep everything straight in their head. That placement also made me realise how much I prefer having something to specialise in than knowing everything in some detail--how stressful is that??? 
  
  Adam consistently shows how medicine is often taught by bullying students (or anyone who is junior to you in position). I think I've been quite fortunate in that most of the doctors who have taught me have been nice. I suppose this might be due to the various complaints systems the medical school has in place so everyone is in constant fear of being reported to the GMC or whatnot. Either way, I have heard other students in my year talking about some horrendous consultants. There was one cardiologist who told a student that our year was the worst year he had ever taught. I also know many doctors (and nurses!) see us as nuisances. I do my best not to bumble around a ward but it's really difficult when you're just expected to know everything without having received teaching on it. Speaking of teaching, communication skills classes during Adam's time were BRUTAL. They were filmed while interacting with patients and then given feedback (more like made fun of) at the end. I do think communication skills learning is important BUT I wish it was done better. At Edinburgh, we are allocated a tutor and rotate in a circle taking a history from an actor patient. The tutor is usually some F2 or speciality trainee and are quite polite with their feedback. However, you can always tell when they're exasperated and reining in harsher words. I know I've definitely been on the receiving end of exasperation! 
  
  The chapter on Adam's disordered eating resonated a lot with me. His really started when he was called a "big lad" after sleeping with a student while at university. This perpetuated a cycle of food restriction and overexercise. To this day, Adam reflects on how he's still often plagued by this insecurity. It's alarming how it only takes one comment to spiral someone out of control like that. I definitely know I'm very sensitive to such comments.
  
  

  Mental illness in patients is treated (after a fashion) but when it occurs within medicine's own ranks, there's still a distinctly Victorian attitude--it's seen as either a failing or self-inflicted. You could argue--and I'm sure people would have--that I was the person sticking my finger down my throat, so all I had to do was...not?

  
  
  I remember trying to get help for loads of mental health stuff through the medical school. To be fair, they are doing a lot more than your average med school but it was excruciating when the lady who was "screening" me asked whether I was exercising and socialising and eating and sleeping well. I was so ready to blow up in her face, "No shit those things help, that's why I've been doing them and that's the reason I'm seeking help--because they're not working!" And even people close to me succumb to comments like, "Why don't you just stop counting?" Gee, I wish I had thought of that. I think there's been some improvement in the attitude towards medics having mental illnesses. That doesn't mean we don't still have a long way to go. I think the chapter about Adam's conference presentation is a great example of this. He essentially bared his soul to a room full of doctors about why training needed to change and become more supportive. He was invalidated by the president of the Royal College. I understand that medicine is a demanding job. However, is it so much to ask to have a good life? I remember in my first year when I expressed concerns about not having a work-life balance to an OBGYN, she laughed me right out of the room and told me I shouldn't have applied for medicine if I expected that, that I had made the wrong choice and it wasn't too late to switch. That was probably one of the most disheartening talks I ever received from a doctor. 
  
  This book makes it very clear, however, that Adam never did want to become a doctor. He was pressured into it by his family. His father was a GP and was keen that Adam followed in his footsteps. When Adam's father said he was sorry that medicine wasn't the right career for him, I was all choked up. He only wanted to share his passion with his son and you can't really fault a parent for that, can you? Regarding my own attitude towards medicine (because I know certain family members will be reading this with eagle eyes), I do think part of it was generational pressure and expectations. Countless family members wanted to become doctors but something or other prevented them from following that path. So, perhaps it was always at the back of my head to become a doctor because of their wishes. However, I do know that interacting with patients and knowing how to help them is important to me. There are days when I absolutely, irrevocably feel hatred and resentment towards medicine. But there are also days when I know I could never commit to another kind of life. Now that I've shoved my way onto the medicine conveyer belt, comments like "Oh, if I were a medical student, I would have done this and this and this" do sting a lot from family (will this be taken as a hint, do you think?) but I hope that I haven't made a mistake in choosing medicine.
  
   I was genuinely horrified to read about Adam getting raped in New Zealand. What an absolutely horrendous experience! It also broke my heart to read,
  
  

  I couldn't think of any other person I could confide in. Who could I trust to under-react, to hide their shock, or be sympathetic and non-judgemental?

  
  
  Especially because I fear I'm in the same pit. Anyway, to go from that to publishing such an experience in a book--that takes a lot of guts. I was close to tears when Adam finally told his GP about the assault and the PTSD and the eating disorder--and all he could think was that the GP would be late to see his next patient. I sincerely hope Adam is in a better place now in terms of processing all his emotions.
  
  On a slightly lighter note, I could totally relate to Adam's attitude towards having children.
  
  

  This poor child is already fucked and it doesn't even exist. [...] Plus the world is hurtling hellward in almost every respect, so you're subjecting your child, who you love more than anyone else in the universe and wish a life better than yours, to a future where the only certainty is that it's going to be much, much worse.

  
  
  It always surprises me when people readily say they want children. In my head, I'm screaming, "Do you NOT understand how horrible the world is and what your theoretical children would be exposed to???" all whilst maintaining a calm and carefully neutral expression. 
  
  Adam is a hilarious writer but behind each joke, I sense great sadness. Adam does admit several times in the book that humour is his coping mechanism--which I thought was fairly obvious given how many jokes there were after the serious bits, maybe to lighten the mood a little. I am keen to read more of his work and really hope he publishes more books soon!
• 
  Jordan Martin

  An insight to the authors life during and after being a doctor. Found myself giggling at some of the things wittily mentioned! Although I found it took a dark turn at the “worst gig” chapter! It’s an uncomfortable read although I understand why it’s there.
  Please read the trigger warnings on the publication/dedication page!
• 
  Ksia_zkowe Oliwia

  Nie wiem czy kojarzycie moje poprzednie opinie o wcześniejszych książkach autora, ale uwielbiam humor jakim nas w nich obdarza i tutaj nie jest inaczej! Już od pierwszego rozdziału parskałam śmiechem i dobrze się przy niej bawiłam.
  Gdybym miała określić jego książki w paru słowach… to trochę medycyna od d*py strony 😂
  Bo co może pójść nie tak, gdy doświadczony lekarz postanowi odłożyć narzędzia i porzucić medycynę? Wszystko. On próbował wyjść z medycyny, ale ona z niego już nie za bardzo, hahaha.
  Ale odebrałam też tę książkę trochę… poważniej, bo czułam, że jest dla autora za murem śmiechu i humoru bardzo osobista. I był jeden fragment w którym napisał, że nie może się tym podzielić w książce, ale jeśli przyjdziemy kiedyś na jakieś spotkanie z nim - chętnie powie o kogo i o co chodziło. I jak ja żałuję, że mnie na spotkaniu z nim nie było ostatnio w Warszawie i że wtedy nie wiedziałam o tym fragmencie!😂
  
  Zacznijmy (a właściwie prawie skończmy) od tego, że w ogóle każdy człowiek, ale… „każdy lekarz ma jakieś dziwactwa…”
  „Zrezygnować z medycyny było trudniej niż z tlenu albo abonamentu na siłowni.”
  
  No… czytanie twoich książek jest jak sikanie - trudno przestać jak już się zacznie. Dobra robota
• 
  Caoimhe

  I had initially thought this book would reveal the detailed process as to how Adam actually left the medical field. Instead from page one, we are greeted to him having left medicine already. While I was a little bit disappointed at first, my tune changed when reading on.
  
  Adam Kay is witty and has a dry sense of humour that some people will love or hate. I personally enjoyed Undoctored for his charismatic uptake on difficult times that you’d never expect anyone to take the time to flesh out into writing. He does give us an insight to his life, his new relationship and how he is truly coping with his new lease of life. I quite appreciated Kay’s frankness- there is no sugar coating by all means. He puts it plain and simple and issues us with stark warnings about the process of diving into a new career path when the other one mentally and physically depleted him.
  
  To be warned- Adam Kay in his truthfulness does not leave incidents unturned. He does account two major difficulties in his life such as developing an eating disorder and sexual assault. This is what is going to make this review a bit more personal but his insight to his eating disorder and his habits really struck a chord with me as it had been something I had attempted (but thankfully failed)- to see someone with such a high status (I know Kay doesn’t approve of this title but I essentially mean someone known to the public) peel back and openly express themselves in this way- well it does hold high esteem.
  
  I think Adam’s approach to life and his writing will divide people- of course, I am not defending any commentary that does show disregard, but I do think this book allows us to see a human side that is sometimes forgotten in the association of the medical field. Personally I know people who are doctors (and honestly are the most interesting people I know,) but you can forget about the high stakes that come with their line of work and the impact it can have on their mental and physical health.
  
  I hope you get what I mean- I also think Austin Duffy’s ‘Night Interns’ highlight it as well- but Kay’s book adds a playful approach that allows everyone to stand back and see the difference between the human side of medicine. I do appreciate the comfort this book has given me while I’m in isolation- I did appreciate another glimpse into the world of Adam Kay (yes I did picture Ben Whishaw- what else was I supposed to do) and his ideas and revelations.
• 
  🌶 peppersocks 🧦

  Reflections and lessons learned:
  “I didn’t know what to do for the best but I was fairly sure things weren’t so bad that they couldn’t be smoothed out by a well worded email… needless to say, this didn’t do the trick. I should have known that it’s pointless to apply rational thought to a situation fuelled by irrationality…”
  
  An exacting title - how to live after leaving the profession that I’m guessing he expected to spend the rest of his life in - the journey may have been derailed but now he’s fully in control of the train…. Sort of?
  
  A lot of big life changes and heavy things featured in this one whilst still being surrounded by, what come across as mostly unlikeable characters. An interesting, often sad story though of how to change completely from practicality and science to performance and the arts… without hurting the few true people in his life. Hard not to feel the hard nuggets of pain dotted between the comedy anecdotes
• 
  Cait❣️

  This felt very different to his first book: This is going to hurt.
  
  Sometimes it felt like a PR stunt, yet some of the stuff he discussed was brutal and honest, and heartbreaking and obviously things he struggled to share.
  However, I felt the story lacked a clear structure and timeline. Now, I know this is a memoir, so he can reveal what he wants when he wants, but it felt too jumpy for me and I felt thrown out and sidelined as a reader.
  
  It was informative and full of his usual snide whimsy, but it didn’t live up to the first book for me.
• 
  Susie Ramroop

  Maybe this would have been better in print. So disappointing. Not a patch on this is going to hurt or even kays anatomy. They were funny. This wasn't funny at all and I realised I didn't care about what he's doing since he left parts of his life behind. I couldn't bear another 5 hours so stopped listening.
• 
  Lonnie

  I hated this book. I just couldn’t get into it. I really enjoyed “This is going to hurt” but I just didn’t find this funny at all. Gave up after a few chapters.
  
  The “funny” stories about disrespecting cadavers/skeletons that were donated to science, really made me angry and were not funny at all.
  
• 
  Jola (czytanienaplatanie)

  A może by tak rzucić szanowany zawód lekarza i zostać początkującym pisarzem-komikiem? Czyli historia Adama Kaya. Jeśli znacie już „Będzie bolało” albo „Świąteczny dyżur”, to wiecie, że i w „Nielekarzu, czyli jak wyleczyłem się z medycyny” prócz dawki humoru możecie spodziewać się też momentów poruszających, trudnych i szczerości do bólu.
  
  "Humor od zawsze był moim sposobem na ucieczkę od rzeczywistości”
  
  Najnowsza książka autora jest z jednej strony zbiorem zdarzeń, które doprowadziły do jego ostatecznego rozstania z medycyną, z drugiej bardzo osobistą próbą ukazania spustoszeń, jakich dokonało wtłoczenie go w ramy zbudowane z czyichś marzeń i oczekiwań. Wpływu, jakie wywarło na jego zdrowie i życie osobiste. Nie oszczędza w tej próbie siebie i innych. Obnaża swoje najbardziej intymne traumy, co zdaje się być formą spowiedzi, ale też aktem ogromnej odwagi, szczególnie u osoby nauczonej kryć emocje za fasadą profesjonalizmu lekarza.
  
  Autor dzieli się z nami swoimi początkami na nowej drodze, chwilami zwątpienia, reakcją najbliższych czy prozaicznym brakiem pieniędzy. Dzięki humorowi, który wcześniej był jego tarczą, sposobem na zachowanie zdrowia psychicznego i wentylem bezpieczeństwa udaje mu się osiągnąć cel i diametralnie zmienić swoje życie. Tylko, czy poszedłby tą ścieżką nie mając doświadczeń w służbie zdrowia? I ile go ta zmiana kosztowała?
  
  Ta książka jak wspomniałam jest bardzo intymna i szczera, a bezpośredniość autora niektórych może wręcz razić. Jednak dobitnie pokazuje, że nie warto brnąć drogą wybrukowaną cudzymi marzeniami, a mieć odwagę poszukiwać własnej ścieżki i nie bać się przyznać do błędu. Dla wielu osób jego historia może okazać się wręcz drogowskazem. Mam poczucie, że tym razem jej celem nie tyle było rozbawienie czytelnika (choć wielokrotnie śmiałam się w głos) i zwrócenie uwagi na luki i absurdy brytyjskiej służby zdrowia, co zmierzenie się autora z samym sobą. I choć momentami kontrowersyjna dzięki temu jest tak bardzo prawdziwa.
• 
  Phoenix

  I wasn’t planning on reading this. But when a kiwi tragically split open in my backpack and ruined the disgustingly expensive hardback cover, nullifying its planned return, I took it as a sign from the universe to explore my third Adam Kay book. Although I assumed the author would by now be desperately scrounging for an old story from his medical days, told with an abundance of slightly forced quips and puns, I enjoyed it much more than expected. Not only did Kay��s humour remain genuinely funny, but I found myself truly engaged in his anecdotes and observations from both before and after becoming a doctor. I was also glad to see his personal reflections on themes like homosexuality, relationships, emotionality, and eating disorders. Perhaps most importantly, I feel I now have a much better understanding of how the medical profession dehumanises its own agents by forcing them to hide their emotions (with profound consequences). While the book inevitably lacked the novelty of ‘This Is Going to Hurt’, I’m glad to have read it. I dare say I might even be grateful to the suicidal kiwi for rendering it unreturnable.
• 
  Tasha

  I’ve got a soft spot for Adam Kay. I’ve seen him perform a few times and it’s always great. In this update on his life experiences he talks a lot about mental health and opening up. I’ve always found his previous books and performances very open and honest, although this book goes even further. His wit and writing style is a joy to read.
• 
  Whenimnotreadingharrypotter

  I really enjoyed This is Going to Hurt and Twas the Nightshift before Christmas so when i saw this in the library I thought I would give it a read.
  His humour and stories, as well as the heart wrenching truth about working in the NHS made for gripping reading in This is Going to Hurt, however in Undoctored it didn't have the humour or the engagement of his other books.
  It just seemed this book was about what happened after, but rather than in detail, it flicked between while he was a doctor and now but nothing really linked or flowed.
  When Adam is being honest and remembering details I find it really fascinating but the humour just didn't seem natural in this one and left me wondering what the point of the book really was?
  If you have read Adam's other books there isnt any real need to read this one. A shame as I was looking forward to this.
  3 stars
• 
  Sam Still Reading

  Adam Kay’s book are always good for a laugh and a cry. Undoctored is no exception, with some very sad experiences and some hilarious one. It’s not all about medicine, but Adam’s experiences after leaving the profession with multiple flashbacks.
  
  The book starts with Adam revealing that he’s experiencing nightmares of tragic things that happened during his time as a doctor. As the book goes on, we find out that it’s not the only trauma he’s experienced. He’s come out to his parents, but they seem to still think he’ll return to being a doctor and give them grandchildren. There are of course some good points to being a former doctor – using the title in hope of getting something and being able to self-diagnose and get scans with just a few WhatsApp messages to mates. Of course, as we all know, doctors (and really most health professionals) aren’t great at self-diagnosis, we’ve always seen someone worse and most things are not urgent…right? This sees Adam being pushed around Las Vegas in a wheelchair rather than attempting the notoriously expensive healthcare system, but ends up in the emergency room for a different reason. And back home, he uses his physics knowledge to try to pass a kidney stone, with excruciating results.
  
  Every now and then, there’s a flashback section about his time as a medical student or young doctor. Mostly these are funny, but often have a serious side to them too. I loved how names of colleagues were changed to names from the Marvel Universe, it made some of the anecdotes even funnier (and some more evil). Some of the parts are very raw, such as when Adam discloses to his GP that he thinks he has PTSD (but automatically thinking that he’s just caused this GP to fall behind in seeing patients). It’s a good balance of the humanistic, do no harm side of medicine with the external pressures of time, money and that the queue never seems to shorten.
  
  I also liked how this book delved deeper into Adam as a person, not just his career. From his attempts at home renovation to his arguments with his partner, it was a look into the mind of a real person, flaws included. It was much more fascinating because of it. I really hope to see more from Adam.
  
  Thank you to Hachette for the copy of this book. My review is honest.
  
  
  http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
• 
  Sofia Sokhareva

  As much as I loved This Is Going To Hurt, I regret to say this is nowhere as good. It was simply trying to be funny way too hard, and to me, most of the punchlines landed flat. What made the first book exceptional was how humane it was; it was a story about how ridiculous - but also how loveable and touching - people can be. Sadly, I found very little of that in Undoctored :(
• 
  Sambooka23

  Adam, you’ve completely smashed it out the park again with this book. For me, it was uplifting, inspiring and touched my heart.
  
  Nurses, doctors, surgeons, consultants etc have it so hard nowadays. I admire them so much and what they deal with, how they put up with some of the complaints they get.
  
  The last chapter of this book touched me in ways I can’t explain right now. I have felt a little lost lately in life and Adam said:
  
  “In a world of people telling you not to rock the boat, sometimes you have to fuck the boat.”
  
  Maybe I need to take life by the hands and just do what makes me happy because in the end, we all die. Make the most of it.
  
  I can’t wait to see Adam tomorrow, I am super excited and so glad to have read this book in time. His jokes are top notch as always, they have me laughing out loud and some have me shocked (but in a funny way). I even understand them more now having worked in NHS for the last 2 years. I just love his books.
  
  Highly recommend!