This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Young Doctor

by Adam Kay

A widely held belief among nondoctors is that there’s some degree of choice involved in coming home at ten p.m. rather than eight. But really, the only choice is whether you fuck over yourself or your patients. The former is annoying, the latter means that people die—so it’s not really a choice at all.

So I told them the truth: the hours are terrible, the pay is terrible, the conditions are terrible; you’re underappreciated, unsupported, disrespected, and frequently physically endangered. But there’s no better job in the world.