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

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of illness, mental illness, suicidal ideation, and self-harm.

Adam Kay is the author and central figure of This is Going to Hurt. A former junior doctor with the UK’s NHS, he left the profession in 2010 and became a writer. He is the author of two other medical memoirs: Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas (2019) and Undoctored (2022). He is also a bestselling children’s author and works as a screenwriter.

This is Going to Hurt provides Kay’s personal insight into life as a junior doctor working in the NHS. The author, who began his medical training in the early 2000s, shares candid diary entries documenting his experiences in obstetrics and gynecology. Through these entries, Kay emerges as a dedicated, compassionate doctor. Despite grappling with intense pressures, long hours, and sleep deprivation, he often works beyond his shifts to ensure the safety of his patients. His diary entries emphasize the all-consuming nature of medicine as a career.

Kay’s storytelling is characterized by a sharp sense of humor. His witty and self-deprecating anecdotes highlight the absurdities and challenges of life as a junior doctor while also conveying the job’s overwhelming pressures.