I received this as part of the Early Reviewers. My opinions are my own. There have been a number of these “life of a medic” books which have hit the highlights in recent times; This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay and Do No Harm by Henry Marsh being two of them. They reflect the dark humour employed by those who rail against the system and are self-deprecating. Mr Ohio’s “humour” seems a little off-key when placed against these other books. It revolves often around the failings of others put together with “good job I was there”. The title of this small and quickly read piece is his response to a girlfriend who felt their time together had come to an end. I didn’t feel any pull toward the author and in a way was glad when our time together came to an end. ( )

From the very first pages I disliked this book. Hated the tone, the profanity, the demeaning descriptions of patients, and again, the just awful language. It was not amusing. I did make it through till the end, only to find a revolting disgusting demeaning description of an obviously gay man. If I could give zero stars I would. ( )

The author spent over 25years as a physiotherapist .He traveled the world and describes some of his most memorable patients. A lot of interesting stories packed in 188 pages! ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed reading these stories about the author’s experiences of working in various venues/organisations as a physiotherapist – as well as his account of his ‘journey’ to becoming one! His writing style is engagingly ‘conversational’, lending a particular sense of intimacy to my reading experience and frequently causing me to laugh out loud at his accounts of some of the rather more bizarre experiences he faced in some of the clinical situations he encountered … no spoilers as I’m hoping my review will encourage you to read this book for yourself!
It's clear from his various accounts of his work as a physiotherapist just how wide his range of knowledge must be to enable him to effectively treat the huge range of conditions and challenges he is faced with in his clinical practice, and how specialised some of his knowledge has to be. Throughout the book what comes across consistently is how committed he is to offering his patients the very best of care, as well as his professionalism and integrity in his dealings with them. His descriptions of how he approaches making his initial diagnosis of the root causes of a patient’s problem were impressive, a reminder that if this isn’t done correctly, and thoroughly, subsequent treatment could prove at best ineffective, at worst downright dangerous. It’s clear that working in the NHS sometimes presented challenges which required him to ‘fight his corner’ to ensure that he was able to offer patients the time and care they needed … but it became equally clear that he he’s more than equal to rising to that challenge!
I recommend this book for anyone who wants to gain insight into the vital role physiotherapists play in our healthcare system, and wants to pick up some useful hints on what we can all do to improve our own health and mobility … and to anyone who read and enjoyed Adam Kay’s ‘This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor’, I can assure you that Nathan’s stories will be equally amusing and thought-provoking! ( )

This is a collection of short snippets from what has clearly been a long career by the author as a physiotherapist in various places around the world. Some of it is interesting and some of it is entertaining, especially when it comes to kissing your teeth. However, I didn't find that I particularly enjoyed it. The author clearly has an agenda around the current way of training, accrediting and employing physiotherapists in the NHS. A lot of the snippets seemed to be there to further that agenda. I don't blame him. The NHS is currently in an appalling state, underfunded and over criticised. We need to recognise and fight for a better future. However, it felt like moaning as opposed to being positive. There is a great book here which could talk about all sorts of issues of genuine importance but it's not this book. I found it insubstantial and unsatisfying. ( )