Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas: Festive hospital diaries from the author of multi-million-copy hit This is Going to Hurt: From the Creator of This is Going to Hurt

Product Information

To deal with difficult situations in a funny way is only a trait seen in those who are experts in what they do and have a great sense of humor. Adam Kay proved that he belongs to this category through his earlier book, This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor. Knjiga je izuzetno kratka, toliko da je možete pročitati u jedan dan. Neovisno o tome Kay je opet briljantan, britak, komičan sa svojim pustolovinama. Priče su stvarno nevjerojatne jer često graniče sa zdravom pameću. But I still enjoyed this author’s unique brand of humor and turn of phrase. And if you have spent anytime in a hospital over the Christmas season (whether as a patient or visitor) you will probably be able to relate in some way. Once a year, at the end of December, the British public collectively succumbs to a fever dream of festivity, trading its usual tight-lipped demeanor for uncharacteristic cheer and goodwill. Medical detachment is something some healthcare professionals acquire after many years of experience.

It’s a normal and beloved part of British life. But even though the rest of the country’s infrastructure is declining into seasonal dysfunction, health services are too vital for hospitals to close their doors for a week or two. That doesn’t stop them from trying to partake in some of the Christmas cheer. Unfortunately, however, festivity combines with the gore and tragedy of a hospital about as well as eggnog combines with amniotic fluid. I started and finished this book in one sitting in under 2 hours! I like it and it gave me a couple of laughs! Some of the entries were funny and some just made my mind go (… and?) I think this is highly subjective so my opinion does not really reflect how funny it was. NHS staff spend their lives in the emotional equivalent of the brace position, prepared for disaster at any time. The responsibility they carry, after all, is unimaginable. They hold people’s lives in their hands, and sometimes those hands haven’t rested for twelve, thirteen, fourteen hours, or more. Adam Kay narrating makes this hilariously entertaining and think it's worth listening to it on audio instead of reading it as you can really feel the happy emotions and the miserable from being a junior doctor working in a obstetrician and gynaecology ward. While wishing for a third book, I can definitely see myself listening to this again next Christmas season. Full marks to the anaesthetist wearing a badge that says; 'He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake'.”

Pages

Unfortunately for the author, during his stint as a practicing doctor, he pulled the short straw six years in a row. His Christmas day consisted of plundering the fridge for leftover sprouts at 11:00 p.m. before crashing from exhaustion. Would you believe there’s a medical term specifically and exclusively for a mass of undigested sharon fruit in an intestine? No wonder medical school takes so long, learning all this shit.” Things don’t improve much when it comes to ambiance. Many hospitals get festooned with morbid facsimiles of standard Christmas decorations, things like wreaths fashioned from unrolled condoms and Christmas tree angels sporting umbilical cords. Well, you can tell how productive my studying has been based on the fact that this is the fourth book I've finished this week and it's only Monday.

For two weeks, all the normal standards of behavior are turned on their head. People go spelunking into their wardrobes to dredge up the most garish clothing they can find; they actively seek out the relatives they spend most of the year avoiding; and the concept of daily routine goes out the window, replaced with family board games and carb-induced coma-naps – this is the only time of year the British practice siesta. People winding down for the holidays hardly tempers the number of accidents and emergencies – far from it. Doctor-turned-comedian Adam Kay takes us on another hilarious and heart-warming journey onto the NHS wards in Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas, giving audiences a peek behind the blue curtain during the festive season at the Palace Theatre. Another misguided attempt at creating a festive feel in the ward led to a whole room having to be evacuated and deep cleaned. The cinnamon and mulled-wine scented diffuser mingled with the hospital smells of blood, placenta, and feces to produce a stench as potent as noxious gas. And I can officially say that I was not disappointed! The stories are eye-opening, sometimes hilarious and provide an insight into the humanity of the NHS. I loved that Government Health Secretary’s were compared to Defence Against the Dark Arts Teachers in Harry Potter, you know they will be evil but you have to wait out the year to see how they are going to be evil!I ask why. then remember why most people do most things, and thus find myself introduced - at the tender age of twenty-four - to the sexual kink of mummification.” Upravo to je i cilj ove knjige, da mi pacijenti budemo senzibilni prema zdrastvenim radnicima. U kojoj god se situaciji našli, nesmijemo zaboraviti da smo svi isti. Following on from the massive success of This is Going to Hurt, based on the book of the same name, former junior doctor Adam Kay delves deeper into life on the wards during Christmas. What for most of us is a time for family, feasting and presents brings all kinds of new challenges for the hard-working staff of the NHS as new Christmas miracles are born and foolish people partake in a few too many Christmas spirits and end up in all kinds of trouble. U ovoj knjizi ipak ima i teških dijelova, posebice jedna priča koju nije uvrstio u svojoj debitanskoj knjizi. Razlog tome je bio što je događaj bio izuzetno težak (toliko da je dodao i napomenu da se slobodno može preskočiti taj dio knjige zbog uznemirujućeg sadržaja), te mu se nije lagano bilo prisjećati, ali je svijestan da je važan trenutak. U tom dijelu ponovno prikazuje one svoje emocije koje mi zaboravljamo da doktori imaju. Iako se nad njime nije radila operacija jedva je podnio raditi. To nam samo govori da nikad ne smijemo zaboraviti da su i doktori ljudi. I like that the author still has a message to deliver despite all the humor! This was less serious than book 1 and it has less Gynecology ward entries but I liked the ending and I guess it is kind of true. As the author says, thanks to all the doctors and nurses and medical staff working day and night and sacrificing their social life to keep the rest of the people healthy! Who knows, maybe in few years, I will publish my own medical diaries!

One year, the nurses in the author’s ward adorned googly eyes and red noses to several specula – devices used to open orifices – to create the world's creepiest looking reindeer. I'm so glad this was my first read of the year - funny but melancholy at times, it was a wild ride and I'm all for it. Just as good as his first book This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor this very much lives up to the hype. I was excited to be learning more about working in a hospital and dealing with serious (and some not so much!) issues. How do some of these things happen???These blinks are a tribute to all the people, from porters to doctors, who sacrifice their Christmas holidays to provide essential care services to the British public. They’re an occasion to offer our respect and gratitude to the people through whose herculean work the NHS continues to function despite the many difficulties that ail it. They’re a reminder that the NHS shouldn’t be taken for granted, and that the nation owes it to the NHS staff to save the system that has saved all Brits at some point or another.