The Doctor Will See You Now: The Junior Doctor’s Back in Hospital
£0.90
The doctor is back again and on the wards! Now in his third year as junior doctor, Max looks and sounds the part. But this time around, things are not at all as he expected …
The junior doctor … back on the wards. After a year on the streets treating outreach patients, Max Pemberton is back in the relative comfort of hospital. This time running between elderly care and the dementia clinic to A&E and outpatients. No longer inexperienced (Max and his doctor friends can now tell when someone is actually dead), they are on the front line of patient care for better or worse.
In the midst of an NHS still under threat (some things never change) there are committed and caring doctors, big issues, hope, frustration, huge societal changes affecting the entire health system as well as the general drama of everyday life in a big hospital, from biscuit wars to resus. It’s not like television, this is real – there are no easy answers – but The Doctor Will See You Now will give you hope that there are enough good doctors asking the questions.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Hodder & Stoughton, Reprint edition (4 Aug. 2011) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 752 KB |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 337 pages |
by Damaskcat
This book sees the author back in a hospital job, covering A&E and working in geriatrics and psychiatry. Geriatrics is something of a Cinderella speciality and dealing with geriatric patients with psychiatric problems is even less popular. There are some heart rending stories and some which remind the reader that there is still good in human nature.
The author’s flat mates feature largely in this book – Flora, Ruby and a new inmate – Terry – who for a change is not a doctor. Lewis is battling with the problem of telling his family about his life style. Patients come and go and some will stick in your mind long after you finish reading the book. The elderly man who had broken his shoulder and who no one would treat because he also had schizophrenia; the man who couldn’t understand that his life savings were now in a bank and went round accusing everyone of stealing them; the man in his 50s with CJD who kept piling furniture up in corners because he had been a removal man before the disease struck him.
What I found particularly touching was the innovative ways nurses found to deal with these patients. The former removal man just needed telling, for example, that it was tea break time and he would sit down and stop rearranging the furniture. This simple solution meant his wife could look after him at home for much longer. The care demonstrated by some of the nurses was absolutely marvellous. One of them could interpret the smallest change in facial expression of one of his patients and knew exactly what he needed and what was wrong with him even though the doctor didn’t.
I found the ways the hospital spheres of influence worked interesting and parallels can probably be found in any large organisation. People in unlikely jobs often have much more power than could normally be expected from their job title alone; the secretary – Trudy – the provider of cake to celebrate and commiserate who always knew everything that was going on. The typing pool where there was a temporary typist who could listen to his iPod and his dictation tapes at the same time and who wanted to be a doctor showed the author that you should never judge by appearances.
Some marvellous characters and some thought provoking situations show that as a society we are seriously neglecting out old people – especially those with mental illnesses. If you are approaching an age when this sort of thing is likely to affect you personally then this book may keep you awake at night wondering whether you could end up sedated in a nursing home because no one has the time to treat you properly as a human being. Staff such as the author himself, Marsha and Dr Webber will give the reader hope that things can change for the better. There are people who care and who want to make a difference.
by Claire K
An unfortunate drop in quality for this third book in the series. The events seem more fictionalised, with greater attention given to the melodrama outside the hospital than the incidents within. There’s a chunk of text in the book which is copied almost verbatim from the first book, where a consultant has porridge spilled on them and thereby notices that the patient is unable to eat by themselves. Even the oh so clever line about how babies aren’t just handed bottles and told to get on with it is copied. Only the consultants name is changed… although it’s the same patient! Nice to know she’s still hanging on two years later even if she does find it nearly impossible to eat the food.
by Shakira Robinson
This is my 3rd book by this author – I love his writing style tremendously. Despite the subject nature, it’s equally parts funny and sad while letting you in the inner-workings of being a doctor. I gave this one 5 stars, because it’s not a 4 1/2 option.
by Angie8329
Good book and written with humour and compassion. Even covered topics that I was surprised to see there, especially the care of the elderly in residential homes. Thanks for the ins8ghts.
by Amazon Customer
Loved it and hopefully will see more of this author. Great to get an insider’s view of the NHS. Just loved the humanness of Max shining through. We often forget as patients that our doctors have feelings too.
by kel
I enjoyed this book, as I have the last 2. However, there were bits that were so similar to setting else. Either his previous books, or Adam Kay’s “this is going to hurt”. I don’t mean they are both about doctors, I mean whole anecdotes with the same details. It gave me a weird sense of deja vu throughout reading ????
by Kindle Customer
I could not put this book down. It was delightful, it was sad, it was thought-provoking. I hope the author writes more. In fact, I’d love to see this on TV.
by ReviewingDoc
This is the third book in the series (following ‘Trust Me, I’m a Junior Doctor’ and ‘Where Does It Hurt?’) and it certainly lives up to their standard. It has the same tone we have come to expect from Max Pemberton, interspersing laugh out loud comedy with more sombre insights. In contrast to the last book, this one is mostly set back in an NHS hospital rather than the community, making it feel more like the first book.
Initially I read the series as an aspiring medical student, and now I have re-read them as I am going into my final year. I am happy to say they have lost none of their charm and are equally relatable from both sides of the hospital bed! I have read each one in a single sitting and cannot recommend these highly enough!