UK comedian and former doctor Adam Kay is set to tour New Zealand in May with his show This is Going to Hurt, mixing comedy with an important message about the welfare of healthcare professionals. Kay, whose bestselling book and hit TV series were inspired by his real-life experiences as a junior doctor, hopes his performances will spark conversations about how society treats doctors and nurses.
Kay will perform in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, and Hamilton from May 12 to May 18.
Sharing Funny and Serious Stories
Kay told Newstalk ZB’s Real Life with John Cowan that about 95% of his show will focus on funny and “disgusting” anecdotes from his hospital days. However, he also wants audiences to reflect on the human side of healthcare workers.
“Patients often don’t like to think of doctors as humans,” Kay said. “If you see your doctor as human, you might also see them as capable of mistakes.”
Kay recalled working in an antenatal clinic where he often apologized to patients for long delays, but no one ever acknowledged the stress placed on the doctors themselves.
Mental Health Struggles in Medicine
During the interview, Kay highlighted the serious mental health challenges faced by medical professionals. In the UK, he said, one doctor dies by suicide every three weeks, and one nurse every week.
Kay criticized the lack of training in coping with the emotional toll of the job. While communication with patients was emphasized during his medical studies, no one taught him how to manage personal trauma.
“Medical training focuses on caring for patients, not on how doctors can care for themselves,” he explained.
Kay said he coped by writing personal diaries, which eventually became his bestselling book.
Overworked and Undervalued
Kay described the “baptism of fire” that junior doctors often face, working long hours under intense pressure. He pointed out how hospital management sometimes removed rest areas for doctors, ignoring the need for short naps during long shifts.
“Would you rather a doctor performing a cesarean section be well-rested or completely exhausted?” he asked rhetorically.
The constant strain eventually led Kay to leave medicine permanently. After a traumatic experience during a shift where both a mother and her baby died, he realized he could not face such heartbreak again without proper emotional support.
“There was no counseling, no time off, no debrief. Just an expectation to ‘get on with it,'” he recalled.
Kay initially planned a three-month break to consider a new branch of medicine but never returned. Fourteen years later, he continues his “three months off.”
A New Chapter: Comedy and Advocacy
Although he left medicine, Kay’s experiences opened a new path. His book This is Going to Hurt sold millions of copies worldwide and was adapted into a successful BBC series starring Ben Whishaw.
Kay has since built a comedy career, using humor to shed light on the often unseen struggles of healthcare workers. His tours have taken him around the world, and next month, New Zealand audiences will have the chance to experience his unique blend of storytelling and advocacy.
Importance of Doctor Welfare
Kay hopes his shows do more than make people laugh. He wants to highlight the need for better mental health support for doctors and nurses.
“It’s vital we remember that healthcare workers are people too,” Kay said. “They need our support, not just our expectations.”
As he travels across New Zealand, Adam Kay aims to entertain, educate, and inspire change in how we view those who dedicate their lives to caring for others.
