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

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A lot of the reward for this job comes in the form of a warm glow. It doesn’t make you look any less tired, you can’t pay the rent with it, and it’s worth a lot less than the social life you’ve traded it for, but this comforting aura of goodness and purpose definitely throws light into some dark corners and helps you withstand a lot of the shit.” There is plenty here for fans of the “disgusting”: the woman who used peanut butter as a lubricant, only to discover that her nut allergy affected her; the man who “desiccated himself to the human equivalent of a Ryvita” by going to a Christmas party as a turkey, wrapped in tinfoil; the woman subjected to Johnny Mathis during a forceps delivery who yelled at the radio: “No, Johnny. That is not what happens when a child is born.” 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. 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.

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. No, he wasn’t, baby-who-Adam-has-just-delivered. You see, Mummy went into labour while Daddy was out at a Christmas party. 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.Christmas in the ward might not be as cozy as at home, but given the circumstances, it’s good enough. Overall, this really reinforces how much we should appreciate the NHS and the staff who work their asses off every single day, not just at Christmas (my mum included). I love how passionate Kay is on this topic!

I'm about to break the news to them when my eyes drift a little further down the screen. Context! 'Scant sample, mixed with dirt, fluff, detritus. Please repeat.' Did he... wank into a hoover bag?” My only complaint is that it’s SO short. I understand Kay would be quite limited in terms of how many Christmas-related stories he has to tell, but it’s so easy to race through in about 2 hours. And it just left me wanting more.A festive diary style look into working in the NHS, this has all the wit, heart and humour of Adam’s previous book, This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor with added tinsel and fairy lights. As before, some of the entries are hard hitting and difficult to read about, mixed with some other, more light hearted entries, that had me laughing out loud. I can see a lot of myself and my colleagues in Adam’s writing style, with an almost stoic approach to life with certain patients and situations that stay with you forever. There were many, many anecdotes and scenarios I’ve seen firsthand myself, and I could relate a lot to Adam’s thoughts and feelings on the NHS and working over the Christmas period. 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. Bivši ginekolog i komičar Adam Kay se nakon hita “This Is Going to Hurt” vraća svojim doktorskim danima. Ovaj put prisjeća se šest božićnih blagdana koje je proveo radeći na odjelu.

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. I read the author’s debut while I was studying for my final tests in med school and now I read this while I am officially a doctor! I received the license test results on the same day I received this book so that was definitely a sign! Registrars like to do this kind of thing now and again to show you they've 'still got it', like your uncle squeezing himself into his Speedos despite the gasps of terrified onlookers around the hotel pool.” I absolutely LOVED This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor but if you have not read it then THIS collection of stories won’t really make sense. It also feels a little like the stories in this one were the rejects that did not make the cut for the first book. On labour ward you get through a particularly large number: it’s hard to emerge from any delivery unsplashed. You’re basically front row for Shamu at SeaWorld, except Shamu has eaten a dodgy kebab and is suffering from chronic fin rot.”

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Of course, there are some touching moments to be found as well. There was a tradition in the author’s ward for the head surgeon to slice a turkey in the break room while asking a nurse to pass him each utensil one at a time as though performing surgery – “Knife please.” Full marks to the anaesthetist wearing a badge that says, “He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake.”” Full marks to the anaesthetist wearing a badge that says; 'He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake'.” 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. Having listened to the audiobook for Kay’s amazing account of life as a junior doctor, This Is Going To Hurt, earlier in the year, I was very much excited to read this little festive book in the run-up to Christmas.