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.