PLAYING DOCTOR Part Two: Residency, is the follow up to the first Playing Doctor book and takes us through his time of residency (and on a personal note, tries to keep himself in one piece while cycling, running, playing soccer all while being highly accident prone—can anyone say concussion…).
These are the years where med school is now
over, but fully qualified and let loose on the unsuspecting public is still a
way off. The years where repetition and practise, practise, practise are key.
We come along on his journey of understanding to ask the right questions when
it comes to diagnoses, pager pains, being kept on his toes by nurses or
“testing him” as they called it, and learning how to get by in that twilight
state of no sleep. He even lets you in on how he learned of addicts trying to
manipulate the system and people abusing disability benefits.
Part Two is a lot more serious than the
previous book. There are definitely still some crazy laugh out loud moments,
but it’s almost as though he has moved on to a more solemn part of his journey.
Having to put someone’s dentures back in when rigor mortis has developed should
not be funny, but I felt for him! Some things really surprised me in this one,
like the fact that (in his experience of sick patients in hospitals) a code
blue nearly always lands up with the patient deceased. Again – TV lied to us!
And be prepared for some sombre moments where bad decisions become a travesty
of justice.
The author’s style of writing is warm and
inviting, even when touching on sensitive issues. Granted, there were a lot of
technical terms used, but the author makes you feel as though you are on the
learning journey with him and you go through the highs and lows as he
experiences them. The writing feels authentic, as though the author is not
trying to sensationalise the situations. He also shares things about his
personal life, so you learn about Winston the lab, and a fearless girlfriend whose
grit and smart thinking should have had a chapter in their textbooks on
thinking outside the box.
I truly enjoyed going on this ride through
residency with him and I hope I get to join him on the next part!
Thanks to Reedsy Discovery for an ARC https://reedsy.com/discovery
