Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3302 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Synopsis
Michael Foxton's riotously candid memoir of his adventures as a junior doctor has established itself as a classic.Medics of all kinds; fans of Casualty, Holby City, Cardiac Arrest; humour fans.For two years, Michael Foxton wrote about his experiences as a junior doctor in the NHS for the "Guardian". Vivid, hilarious and often alarming, his book has gone on to find a cult following among doctors and patients alike. His observations illuminate the quirks, horrors and delights of all aspects of doctoring, from casualty to the psychiatric ward. Foxton tells us what it really feels like to be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week and introduces us to a mixed cast of patient that includes the rude, the violent and the outrageously flirtatious. Bedside Stories has become a classic.

Customer Reviews

It is really like this.....
Although it may be unpalatable to many, this is exactly what it was ( ?is) like to be junior doctor...I know i was one.
I'm now a consultant and things haven't changed much (other than for the worse)
Read it if you want to get a true perspective as opposed to the nonsense in Holby City, Casualty etc


Whilst you're at it take a look at the Cardiac Arrest series from the 90's now on DVD -- probaly the best hospital TV series ever made

Important reading for doctors in training
As a medical teacher I was keen to add my thoughts having
just read this book. Like other reviewers I found aspects of this book
negative, missing out a lot of the positive
points out about being a junior doctor.

Having said that there are some parts of the book which were very valuable.

Suicide among doctors is a real issue and it is vital all
doctors, particularly junior doctors, read the section on
pages 80-82; "Suicide is Painless". He writes; "So if
you're a doctor and you think it it's all over and your
whole world has gone irretrievably pear-shaped, I say
this: Bail out. Don't kill yourself. Leave your job. .....
Reclaim your life: have it over again. You're young.
You'll make new friends."

If you have issues relating to views on health service
managers, then read page 118.

And finally, a useful
quotation; "Accident and Emergency is the random anecdote
generator of the NHS, the strange attractor to which all
ridiculousness will gravitate." (Page 68)

The book is well worth a read, particularly for doctors in training.

Hilarious
This is the only book that tells it like it is about being a junior doctor in the UK. It's funny and dark. A must-read for all doctors and would-be doctors out there.