How Not To Be a Doctor is the thought-provoking collection of Dr Launer 's most insightful anecdotes, musings and commentaries on the medical profession, which provides us with an understanding of what it takes to be a doctor in the UK. Based on his work as a doctor, as well as his own experiences as a patient, it includes accounts of his travels to far-flung places, including the moment when he was the only doctor in the house ' on a train to Cairo where a ten year-old boy needed an emergency appendectomy. He also shares lessons on the secret language of patient-doctor relations learnt through challenging consultations, concluding that of all professions, doctors are almost invariably the most proficient at not listening. ' He explores the medical taboos so rarely discussed in or outside the medical profession. Are men evolutionarily obsolete' How do doctors reconcile their sexual desires with the objectivity required to examine a patient' In this remarkable collection, Launer pulls back the curtain to uncover the day-to-day life of a doctor, and reveals the often humorous and personal aspects of the clinical environment. Combining expertise with humour, directness and a human touch, these essays are a delight to read for the general reader as much as for those working in the medical profession.
