THE REGISTRAR

"This is compelling. You won't put it down." —Dr Norman Swann "I know this story, I've lived this story. Now the rest of Australia will know it too." —Dr Melanie Cheng "Compelling, illuminating and utterly readable." —Jamila Rizvi "The moving story of a woman, a family and a profession." —Kate Jenkins, Sex Discrimination Commissioner "So beautiful. A fitting tribute to our lives and work, and to those who we have lost." —Dr Ruth Mitchell, neurosurgeon and Nobel Peace Prize laureate "A rapid intravenous infusion of caffeine and adrenaline from start to finish." —Dr Brad McKay, doctor, broadcaster, author of Fake Medicine

Dear Reader, this book was written because of Josephine. I worked with Josie immediately after we'd both finished our specialist medical training. The same age and seniority, we were both just starting to recover from the trauma of our registrar years and find our place as independent doctors. Josie and I worked closely for six months, sharing awful stories and fits of laughter. Then, I left to work elsewhere. I never returned to that hospital and we didn't keep in touch, despite our brief intimacy. In a profession where we regularly rotate between different hospitals, this is altogether too common. Several years later, during a discussion about doctors' mental health, a colleague said, almost in passing, something about, ‘When Josephine died.' It turned out that several months after we parted ways, Josie committed suicide. Apart from the stress and overload we were all feeling, I couldn't recall any signs that she was struggling. It had been years since I'd thought about Josie, but in my mind she was still at that hospital, slowly rising in seniority, being herself and very much alive. Overwhelmed by yet another loss, I sat down and wrote the first three chapters of a first draft of this book that evening. From a place of grief, I wrote the book I thought might have helped Josie feel less alone. I know now that those awful stories we shared weren't unique. And with hope, I wrote the book that might help people understand why we so often fail our patients, and each other. Sometimes, in hospital, people die. But not all of them should. Thank you for reading The Registrar. (Author's letter to booksellers in the ARCs)