The often hilarious, at times horrifying and occasionally heartbreaking diaries of a former junior doctor, and the story of why he decided to hang up his stethoscope

Finally a true picture of the harrowing, hilarious and ultimately chaotic life of the junior doctor in all its gory glory, dark comedy and unavoidable sadness. A blisteringly funny account shot through with harrowing detail, many pertinent truths and the humanity we all hope doctors conceal behind their unflappable exteriors. -- Jo Brand Unputdownable. You must read this book if you like reading, like laughing or love our NHS. It's a spit-your-tea-out-laughing clarion call to stand up for our junior doctors with all our might -- Shappi Khorsandi This should be required reading for anyone who works in, uses or even voices an opinion about the NHS. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll laugh some more, you'll think twice about ever reproducing -- Dean Burnett, author of The Idiot Brain I'm not a Doctor (despite what I sometimes say) but I'd prescribe this book to anyone and everyone. It's laugh-out-loud funny, heartbreakingly sad and gives you the lowdown on what it's like to be holding it together while serving on the front line of our beloved but beleaguered NHS. It's wonderful -- Jonathan Ross By turns hilarious, shocking, heartbreaking and humbling -- John Niven What an amazing book. I laughed so hard and often I nearly choked, but it's also very moving and important. Everyone should read it. -- Cathy Rentzenbrink A scurrilously funny, poignant and fascinatingly horrific tale of being torn to pieces and spat out by the strangely loveable but graceless monster that is the NHS * Milton Jones * What a hilarious, stomach-churning, thought-provoking heartbreaker of a book. I loved every single page -- Jill Mansell Hilarious from the first page - very, very funny. I loved it -- Kit Wharton, author of Emergency Admissions This made me laugh out loud and cry in equal measures. Adam's book weaves in and out of his patients' lives and in so doing he tells, in a better narrative than I have ever seen before, of the pain and joy of working so close to despair, disease and death. It's a quite brilliant book and will soothe the sorrows of many junior (and senior) doctors and remind us all why we entered this wonderful profession. A must read for patients too - lifting the bonnet on the working life of your jobbing hospital doctor -- Prof Clare Gerada MBE, past chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners If we lose the NHS, Adam Kay's diary of his him as a junior doctor will become a historical record of a unique, empathy-powered machine, and make it not just one of the funniest books I've ever read, but one of the saddest, too -- David Whitehouse

Adam Kay is a writer and script editor for TV and film. During his transition from doctor to writer he established himself as a musical comedian as frontman of Amateur Transplants, achieving great success and over 20 million YouTube hits. He lives in London.

Introduction - i: IntroductionChapter - 1: House OfficerChapter - 2: Senior House Officer Post 1Chapter - 3: Senior House Officer Post 2Chapter - 4: Senior House Officer Post 3Chapter - 5: Registrar Post 1Chapter - 6: Registrar Post 2Chapter - 7: Registrar Post 3Chapter - 8: Registrar Post 4Chapter - 9: Senior RegistrarChapter - 10: AftermathSection - ii: An Open Letter to the Secretary of State for HealthAcknowledgements - iii: Acknowledgements