Max Pemberton (2)

A good read, as usual, and it's good to see his passion for and commitment to the NHS is as strong as ever. Considering all the dozens and dozens of friends and colleagues he cites as helping with his book, though, it's surprising that none of them has pointed out the grammatical errors he is prone to. Most gratingly, he's one of those people who fails to see the difference between "I" and "me". It is gratifying, however, that his publisher has at last recognised that "practise", when used as a verb, is spelt with an "s" rather than a second "c".… (plus d'informations)

Set in a different country and in a different century (!) from my own experience but so much of this was familiar, and conjured up memories that were occasionally so strong they were accompanied by distinctly remembered emotions. The medical and hospital systems in the UK and Australia are very similar and not a lot has changed.

This type of writing has the problem of needing to hit the right tone or it just doesn't work, and Pemberton gets it right most of the time. At the start I thought 'oh oh, this is going to be too flippant in his search for humour, and too self-pitying, but he reigned it in very quickly.

The book is structured as a diary of the working year of a Junior House Officer (six months surgery and six months medicine) in the NHS in Britain. It is a fictionalised account of events that a HO would encounter, but Pemberton does say that everything that happens in the book is based on something that did happen in real life. It is also based on a regular column that Pemberton wrote for the Daily Telegraph newspaper. It's easy to see that he's taken the columns and turned them into a coherent 'story' by adding sections describing incidents and characters from both the hospital and his (almost nonexistent) personal life. In the longer column sections he uses a patient's problem or a specific situation as the basis for a discussion of some of the social, moral and ethical issues involved in medicine and medical care. And also some NHS administrative and 'political' issues. They are a collection of thoughtful and insightful (though obviously somewhat superficial) opinions on the issues. The shorter in between bits show very accurately and honestly what it's like during the first year on the job: frustrating, terrifying, emotionally and physically draining, and quite often also disillusioning. And not just what happens, but how he really feels, both physically and emotionally. That crushing feeling of constant tiredness is one not easily forgotten.

Overall this is a very worthwhile book, both for those with and without any medical background. It's a far cry from the "House of God" type of approach, and while occasionally I felt that the diary entries and the patients and incidents were too obviously concocted just as the framework for the 'lesson', the lessons themselves are worth it. It's also well written, with an underlying humanity and tenderness that shines through. And it is, after all, totally based in reality.… (plus d'informations)