This is going to hurt

Before 1973, there was no overtime pay at all, none whatsoever.

OH qualified in 1969 - and had to work those hours without overtime until 1973.

janeainsworth, there was no alternative in those days - that was what the job was and if you wanted to become fully qualified, that was what you had to do. As for "calling out the tyranny of the system", can you suggest what copious free time there could have been to do that? Not to mention the difficulty, in some areas and some departments, of getting your next job?

One benefit was, of course, that you did get paid fairly well. In my day, we started to get actual overtime payments over - I think , but may be wrong, 60 hours - at a third of normal rate! That is one third of time, not time and a third. You had no time to spend it, so got some savings tucked away by the end of your junior house jobs.

I was lucky, as my house jobs involved less than the 130+ hours per week that Kali2 mentions, as I chose them for the hours rather than for the departments. I knew I couldn't cope with more than about 100-110 hours per week and wasn't ambitious.

As for the idea of saying "we did it so the younger ones can do it too", that is offensive, as nobody sane would wish that on anyone else. Mind you, we did have some older consultants who said that in their day they had to be available for longer hours AND do fire-watching on the hospital roof. There was no point in saying that a) they had a lot fewer treatments available than we did, b) people did not tend to sue them if they were knackered and made a mistake and c) there didn't happen to be a lot of incendiary bombs falling on hospital roofs during the 1970s.

Kali2 I’m just struggling to understand why, if your husband suffered so much while he worked as a junior doctor, you found Adam Kay’s book funny.
To me it was a story of the gradual breakdown of a dedicated young man who had no choice but to leave the profession he loved and to which he had dedicated over 10 years of his life.

I read this book when I was working on a Delivery Suite. So true, all of it.

Errata, it was in fact 1 in 2, not 1 in 3, for the first couple of years.

It nearly killed my husband, twice -so NO jane, I am NOT saying that. He suffered long term damage, which made it very difficult to get a mortgage, and where I and the children were not properly covered by life insurance. So, sorry, NO!

There was NO choice- it was as it was.

And perhaps earlier generations of doctors should have called out the tyranny of the system so that so many doctors wouldn’t suffer burn out.
‘Well that’s what our generation put up with and now we’re laughing because young people are suffering in the same way we did’ - is that what you’re saying Kali2?

130+ hours per week, that is!!! Some on call, nights and week-ends, 1 in 3, on top of a very full day. Sometimes a chance to get 1 or 2 hours sleep, if lucky- but when working in Casualty, Cardiac ward, or indeed in obs and gynea- that was a real luxury.

janeainsworth- we found it so funny, because anyone who has been a Junior doctor, well before Adam Kay did, working 130+ hours - knows just how close to the truth the book is. I remember, as a non medic, being truly shocked by the bone dry, black sense of humour of Junior docs, called housemen in those days- until I realised it was the only survival technique they had. I used to spend so much time in the Junior Doc's mess, and even lived at the Hospital for quite a long time- so I shared those days and stories very close up.

I'm looking forward to seeing it. Loved the books, it's certainly not going to be a "Call the Midwife" type program!

I won't be watching it. Ive seen enough of doctors and hospitals to last me a lifetime. Plus, if it's full of stuff going wrong I don't want to know. Hospitals terrify me enough as it is.

I couldn’t understand it when people described the book as funny. I found it tragic that Adam Kay left medicine because of the unbelievable pressure of working in the NHS.
I’ve seen him perform 3 times - the last time he was clearly struggling mentally.

I loved the book, but incredibly sad in parts.

I went to see the author’s show three years ago. It was hilarious and tragic and very emotional.

I loved the book! Which channel will it be on?

(argghhh where is THAT edit button! - type too fast)