Adam Kay left a career as an obstetrician six years ago. In Fingering A Minor on the Piano, he shares observations about the realities of working as a doctor, creating a picture of the conditions and pressures that sit behind strike action. We are told how Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt led the public to believe that money was at the root of the recent Junior Doctor strikes in the NHS; internally, the medical profession were more concerned about patient safety. Kay shares extracts from his diary, interspersed with statistics, anecdotes and songs, that reveal the impact a medical career can have on the body, the psyche, and personal relationships.
Anthemic pop songs are re-worded, combining puns and black humour to recreate situations or concepts encountered in the various fields of hospital work. Queen's 'Under Pressure' becomes a GP's diagnosis of a broken leg "and depression". 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' becomes about anaesthetists 'Listening to blips of the heart' on their monitoring equipment. We get to test our own knowledge of medical terminology by singing along with a riddling adaptation of 'Hallelujah.'
According to one statistic, an obstetrician will have a disastrous event concerning their patients every five years. After his first, Kay determined himself unable to cope with another, leading to his departure from the medical profession. He is, however, still passionate about the work of doctors in society, and created this show to address the inconsistencies between media reporting of strike politics and the realities. Nobody, he asserts (backed up by the experiences he shares with us), would put themselves through the traumas of a medical career for something as superficial as money.
Kay's diary entries take us from his first day as a Junior Officer through the various NHS job title hierachies, and into his years as a registrar. Between fragments of his tales and his concertedly patronising behaviour to the Junior Doctor in the front row, we also become aware of an underlying problem of institutional bullying within the NHS. (KK)
Fingering A Minor on the Piano is on at 18:40 at Pleasance Courtyard until August 29th. Wheelchair Access, Level Access, Hearing Loop - https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/adam-kay-fingering-a-minor-on-the-piano
Adam Kay website: http://www.amateurtransplants.com
Medicine for the NHS video: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUOR8WSmyCqKQ8ONuWR_vaQ
Campaign website: http://www.medicineforthenhs.com/junior-doctor-contract/
On 'Black Wednesday': https://www.bma.org.uk/connecting-doctors/b/work/posts/black-wednesday-don-t-let-yourself-be-smeared
On bullying within the NHS: https://www.nursingtimes.net/all-staff-should-unite-to-stop-bullying-in-the-nhs/5007963.article
Roger Fisher's solution to politicians having 'psychological distance' from matters of life and death, regarding nuclear missiles: http://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/07/science/social-scientists-believe-leaders-lack-a-sense-of-war-s-reality.html?pagewanted=all
Careers in medicine: https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/about/careers-medicine
'Rapid Obstetrics and Gynaecology' textbook: https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Rapid_Obstetrics_and_Gynaecology.html?id=4udkDS7Tg20C&redir_esc=y