Emotional Female

Yumiko Kadota

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English

Viking
03 March 2021

Memoirs; Biography - Australian

ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- I loved this book. Kadota's journey through medical school in Sydney and her experiences working in various hospitals across Australia was shocking and saddening to read about. It highlights many problems within the health care system in Australia; including racism, sexism and sexual abuse, which have been tolerated since the perpetrators are accomplished, high-profile members of the medical community. She talks about the horrible decision many medical students and new doctors face in this environment: whether to keep silent about the mistreatment and abuse they have suffered, or to report it- often leading to them being ostracized and refused job opportunities. This is also a timely read, given the recent class actions against hospitals in Victoria, where junior doctors have sued because they have not been paid for overtime hours.

Kadota describes how her mental and physical health suffered from the gruelling hours and the immense pressure, compounded by understaffing and cut-throat competition for job positions. This ultimately lead to burn out and her decision to quit her job. I particularly loved Kadota's discussion of how difficult this decision was to make- since, despite the terrible conditions and burn-out she still harboured a love for surgery and didn't want to give up on her dream and passion to follow this career-path.

Kadota's writing is incredibly gripping; I felt mad in parts, sad in others, and above all inspired and awed at her resilience. Kadota's book is a much-needed catalyst for questioning the health-care system in Australia, and for promoting the fact that being an "Emotional Female" is anything but a hindrance; it's a vital quality which allows doctors to empathise with their patients.

A refreshing antidote to the "workaholic" culture of today where burnout or quitting is seen as unacceptable, Kadota's book advocates that physical and mental health is of primary importance; and quitting a toxic workplace is the right decision to look after yourself, not some kind of failure. Hannah

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Yumiko Kadota was every Asian parent's dream- model student, top of her class in medical school and on track to becoming a surgeon. A self-confessed workaholic, she regularly put 'knife before life', knowing it was all going to be worth it because it would lead to her longed-for career.

But if the punishing hours in surgery weren't hard enough, she also faced challenges as a young female surgeon navigating a male-dominated specialty. She was regularly left to carry out complex procedures without senior surgeons' oversight; she was called all sorts of things, from 'emotional' to 'too confident'; and she was expected to work a relentless on-call roster - sometimes seventy hours a week or more - to prove herself.

Eventually it was too much and Yumiko quit.

Emotional Female is her account of what it was like to train in the Australian public hospital system, and what made her walk away.

Yumiko Kadota is a voice for her generation when it comes to burnout and finding the resilience to rebuild after suffering a physical, emotional and existential breakdown. This is a brave, honest and unflinching work from a major new talent.

By: Yumiko Kadota
Imprint: Viking
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm, Spine: 1mm
Weight: 1g
ISBN: 9781760894627
ISBN 10: 1760894621
Pages: 352
Publication Date: 03 March 2021
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Yumiko is a medical doctor from Sydney. She resigned from public hospital work after experiencing burnout and now works privately. Her story entered mainstream media after she blogged in February 2019 about her experiences as a trainee in the health system, opening with the words- 'I never thought I would say this, but I broke. I give up. I am done. I am handing back my dream of becoming a surgeon.' Nowadays she's rebuilding herself, starting with her health. She blogs on wide range of topics that reflect her various interests; eco-warrior, yogi, book worm.