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Featured entry

Feelings do not mean failure

During a busy Saturday morning on the medical assessment unit, a daughter came up to me and asked how her mum was doing.

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Latest posts

Learning to scope

Posted on 22 May 2012
When I started my gastroenterology specialty trainee job, it was the general medicine on-calls that had given me sleepless nights and an unhealthy red wine habit. I presumed I’d easily pick the gastro up as the year went on.
Tags: education and training, juniors, consultants
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Time to bury RIP?

Posted on 18 May 2012 by Claudia Fry
‘Rest in peace.’ How many of us write this in patients’ notes when we confirm death? It’s not taught to us at medical school. It’s not in the ‘how to survive foundation year’ textbooks. But frequently I see it, even in notes written by colleagues trained abroad.
Tags: End-of-life issues, juniors
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Unavoidable admission

Posted on 1 May 2012 by Sarah Hamer

It was his daughter who I recognised first. ‘We’re back, and this time we’re not leaving.’ She was clutching a suitcase.

Tags: communication skills, GPs, juniors, diagnosis
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Challenges of a working mum

Posted on 30 April 2012 by thebma

‘Clean me up, I’m sicky!’

My patient is small, demanding and not quite two years old. I have been on-call constantly for 24 hours, and am woken from sleep by her voice from the next room.

Tags: work-life balance, juniors
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Voice recognition

Posted on 21 April 2012 by Abbey Gray

‘Please, I would like to go home now.’

It was 2am, and I was stuck. I was the sole on-call foundation doctor 2 at the local psychiatric unit where Ms P had been admitted earlier that evening.

Tags: Mental health, communication skills, juniors, diagnosis
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Explosive language

Posted on 18 March 2012 by Julian Gaskin

A few seconds passed as he identified the roentgenograph he desired to show. ‘Blow it up,’ said the consultant.

The F2, obviously tired from his night on call and not being from the UK, did not understand what he was being asked to do.

Tags: Education and training, communication skills, juniors, consultants
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Applied learning

Posted on 17 March 2012 by Sally Watkinson

Some years ago and with great enthusiasm, I commenced my Calman registrar numbered post — the equivalent of ST3 (specialty trainee 3) in obs and gynae. Like many trainees, I was eager to learn and could often be found hanging around the delivery suite even when it was not my session to be on call.

Tags: juniors, consultants, education and training
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