Monday 10 September 2012

New term, new town, new start

I finished the summer job, had a couple of days in Cornwall with mr, packed up my stuff and moved to my new home.  I've been here a week now.  I haven't really done anything exciting, it's mostly just been induction lectures.  All I can really tell so far, is that 3rd year seems packed.  It seems exciting too, but I'm pretty nervous.  My first term is based around acute care so I'm on the wards a lot.  I have one week in each speciality focussing on a specific presentation and then I move on.  Mondays and Wednesday mornings are for lectures and clinical skills and the rest of the time I will be on the wards and in theatres on placement.  Friday afternoons I will have a feedback session with a Consultant where I have to present back a significant patient I encountered during the week to be questioned on.  This is probably the bit I'm fearing most.  The Locality Sub-Dean asked at our induction lecture if this was the bit that everyone was most afraid of, and if we'd heard the Consultants were brutal and would grill us.  All bar one in a room of 77 raised they're hands in agreement.  He said that wouldn't be the case, but how did all of us hear it.  I shall just have to go into Friday as prepared and as confident as I can be, and see what happens.  

I am starting with a chest pain week and I have placements in the ED, MAU and cardiac theatre.  I'm not enjoying the early starts much, I'm finding it hard to get sleepy enough to go to bed earlier, but tomorrow is my first proper day on placements on all day, so I'm sure adrenalin will help to get me up.  During the course of the week I have to clerk and examine a minimum of 3 patients to log in my clinical log book, find a patient and get assessed on a cranial nerve, higher function, eye and ear competency and find two patients to take to the feedback session on Friday.  It will be fine, I can totally do this.  Yeah, so send good thoughts my way please.  I can do this, but a little luck can't hurt.  

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow- sounds intensive! I don't do this much work and I'm in final year! Let us know how you're getting on.

The Graduate Medic said...

Acute care sounds pretty awesome. Hope it treats you well.