Trust Me, I'm A Mental Doctor!

Stolen from Mental Nurse

2007-10-11T17:38:00.001+01:00

Your Score: Commander - ESTP60% Extraversion, 40% Intuition, 73% Thinking, 46% JudgingIt's all about action with you, isn't it? You're outgoing and right to the point. Fast moving, fast talking and often fast spending. Your motto is "Just DO it." Wow. You move faster than the Flash on a treadmill. (Yes. I could have thought up something cleverer than that. But honestly, you're

Off work on the sick

2007-10-06T17:19:00.000+01:00

I have been off work sick for just over a week now. The ugly, black monster that is depression, self-harm, suicidal thoughts and general don't care lethargy has washed over me again. It's a shame really because I was rather being to enjoy my new job at the new hospital.Work have been great about it though. They've been really understanding and my consultant has told me not to come back until I

It doesn't matter where you are in the country...

2007-08-27T18:10:00.001+01:00

Bank Holidays working in A&E are on the whole always the same. Full of DIY accidents, sporting accidents, drunks, people who have had accidents whilst drunk, overprotective parents bringing their kids in 'cause they can't get to see a GP and all the time people telling you to hurry up because it's a Bank Holiday and they don't want to spend all day in A&E.Well, guess what? It wasn't my first

But how strange the change, from major to minor

2007-08-24T18:59:00.000+01:00

I spent most of the day in the minors department today, as opposed to the rest of the week where I was in majors. Now unlike most of my colleagues, I don't actually mind working in minors, I believe it is part of my job and I tend to get annoyed with people who work in A&E for all the adrenaline rush of a Casualty episode, and sometimes minors can be as interesting as majors. I do however, get

Success!

2007-08-23T19:25:00.000+01:00

For those of you who are interested, and those who are not, I finally found out what the backing music to the TfL "You're Better Off By Bike" advert is.Straight Lines by Dawn Landes.Hallelujah!!! It's been driving me mad for weeks.

Long time, no see, and all that jazz

2007-08-19T17:38:00.000+01:00

Gosh, it's been a while. I don't really know where to start. I'll start by saying that I was one of the lucky ones, I have a training post in London, in Emergency Medicine. It's in a busy hospital and isn't one I'd come across before (I studied in London) although I did know of it. They are also encouraging me to sit my MCEM exams which is good as I have said before that my previous workplaces

I am not dead...

2007-05-03T10:49:00.000+01:00

But I can't honestly say that I feel alive.MMC and MTAS still stink, the fiance is back from Iraq and is looking forward to working in Birmingham without any consideration for the fact that if I get a job I won't be anywhere near Birmingham, I am trying to calm myself down over the one interview I have and am trying to resist the urge to run away and quit this profession. Oh, and I'm trying to

Auf Wiedersen, A Bientot!

2007-03-01T10:19:00.000Z

Although, unlike in the great film Cabaret, the end of this post will most certainly not end with Where are your problems now? Forgotten? I told you so. We have no troubles here! Here life is beautiful... The girls are beautiful...Even the orchestra is beautiful!Is it a fact that MMC/MTAS is not beautiful.I have been shortlisted for one interview. In ACCS (Emergency Medicine) and have been

Rule number one of blogging

2007-02-24T20:16:00.000Z

Never post when slightly drunk.I have to admit that my last post (on the shambles that is MMC/MTAS) was posted when I was drowning my sorrows over finding out the deadline had been extended with a bottle of nice chilled white wine. This may account for the slightly melodramatic, 14-year-old, style of writing.However, despite being slightly inebriated when writing it, my thoughts on the matter are

My true thoughts on MMC

2007-02-23T19:44:00.000Z

Oh how I hate MMC, how I hate MTAS, how I hate being a doctor right now and how I hate being me.I probably have 6 months left of being a doctor, after all, who on earth is going to shortlist me? And even if they do I now have to wait even longer to find out because of the fecking eejits. Of these 6 months I have spending half of this time in anaesthetics, a worthy cause but not the speciality I

Seconded

2007-02-20T10:19:00.000Z

I have been seconded to anaesthetics for 3 months. Whilst this is somewhat bad (as it means I have to leave the beloved A&E department and all the hilarity that involves) it is also good as I am now working a daily shift pattern that will see me working either early (8am - 5pm), late (3pm - midnight) or a night shift (11pm - 9am the following morning). This is of course good news as it means

Friday evening

2007-02-03T11:52:00.000Z

It was a weird and wonderful shift last night and quite harrowing at times. I arrived just before I started to a waiting room full of patients, which is never a good sign as it invariably means there are a lot of frustrated people as they have been waiting a fair while and last night was no exception.The first patient I saw was a 12 year old girl with a suspected fractured wrist which she had

Stressed

2007-02-02T15:36:00.000Z

So I am trying to complete my MMC application before I go to work but the bastard computer is not letting me access MTAS and my hard drive seems to be in melt down. *screams quietly to herself*I start work at 5pm and am only on shift until 11pm (short shift woohoo). Am praying for a quiet evening so I can calm down slightly and try and take my mind off MMC.Doubt it will happen though, after all

I Hate MMC

2007-02-01T22:32:00.000Z

AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!That just about vents my anger over MMC. I am offically useless and am going to be unemployed.Why? Because I am not experienced/qualified enough for ST3 training in Emergency Medicine as I don't hold Part A of MCEM or equivalent. So am stuck with ST2 places in ACCS - Emergency Medicine and ACCS - Acute Medicine and 2 CTM specialities.I'm just a useless

London... home sweet home

2007-01-31T21:29:00.000Z

I have got a few days off now (including today) and I decided to treat myself. So today saw me tootling off on a train into London, which reminded me of the joys of being back in the South (reaching London within 60 minutes - joy) and then reminded me of the pain of being back in the South (old trains, annoying timetables, overcrowding - not so fun).Anyway, I am a Londoner at heart. I was born in

Meme

2007-01-30T13:20:00.000Z

Stolen from Patient Anonymous:The medical specialty for you is.... Internal Medicine Internal medicine is better than any of the specialties. When a patient comes in for a check-up, you can send them home with a clean bill of health. And when a patient comes in with high blood pressure, you can prescribe one of a wide variety of drugs, including beta-blockers, diuretics, and ACE inhibitors. And

Burns Victim

2007-01-28T15:32:00.000Z

General rule in life that should always be followed. When cooking on a gas hob, never leave the ring lit without a saucepan/frying pan on it as someone may reach over it and burn themselves thus ensuring a trip to A&E to get burn dressed and nylon jumper removed from burn.Even more obvious rule, never do this if you are a junior doctor and the A&E department you will end up in is the one you work

Flattered...

2007-01-23T12:47:00.000Z

Firstly, thanks to all the people who posted comments in relation to my last post and my new additions to my blogroll. It is very flattering to think that there are medical students and medics out there who enjoy my writing and can relate to it. It makes me think that this blog is worthwhile and it is not just me who is going through this crap of Mucking-Up Medical Careers (oh, sorry that meant

New additions

2007-01-07T17:18:00.000Z

You may have noticed that I have made some new additions to my blog roll. All of their blogs are absolutely fantastic.For a look at the stresses and strains of being a medical student in today's world may I suggest that you check out Angry Medic who is currently at Cambridge University (and by the sounds of things wishing they weren't) and Of Short White Coats who is studying at a London Medical

Urgent plea

2007-01-06T21:19:00.000Z

This is a plea from the deepest darkest depths of the Home Counties and all the areas within the M25...Could all you yummy-mummy's (and you know who you are - you shop in Waitrose, buy your kids ready prepared packed lunches because making lunch isn't in the nanny's job description, drive Chelsea tractors and send your kids to independent prep schools) stop bringing your kids into A&E departments

Happy New Year

2007-01-05T16:04:00.000Z

Although it is a little late.I seem to have neglected blogging for far too long and yet I am not quite sure why. Maybe the current post I have is more demanding than the last, that is of course a very plausible reason as there are fewer staff in this department than in the last department I worked in. Or maybe I just haven't had anything interesting to say.To be honest, I don't think anyone

No surprises here then

2006-10-06T16:23:00.000+01:00

Saw this story originally in the London Lite paper on my way home from work last night, and subsequently on the BBC News homepage. It goes like this...Junior medics have more 'crashes'. Junior doctors are being put at increased risk of road traffic accidents because of exhaustion. A survey of 1,619 junior doctors by the Royal College of Physicians found that one in six had a road traffic accident

Sigh...

2006-06-08T09:07:00.000+01:00

I have just got back from work, and am wondering how I am meant to sleep when it looks so gorgeous out there. The department was rammed last night, and so hot, even I was nearly melting in a set of scrubs (how elegant they are). I felt very sorry for the poor old dear who had been brought in my ambulance and her daughter had wrapped her up in a big fleecy dressing gown to "keep out the cold", the

Summer Nights

2006-06-06T17:43:00.000+01:00

I am on a week of nights this week which I don't actually mind. I hate nights in winter when you arrived at work in the dark and leave work in the dark and because you're working in some goddamn awful NHS hospital (and I note proper 'old style' NHS hospitals, not a new fancy PFI one which looks more like a shopping centre) which has very few windows and ghastly flu-tubes meaning that you never

Public Health Announcement

2006-06-01T18:26:00.000+01:00

I have a few words of advice for those of you wishing to conduct 'Do It Yourself' projects over the weekend. This comes from my observations over the Bank Holiday weekend of injuries people have caused to themselves.1) When a set of instructions says that the project requires 2 people, it says this for a reason. This is probably because a wardrobe is a heavy item and one person cannot support it.

It's just been one of those days

2006-05-26T17:50:00.000+01:00

Managed to get a short shift today, only 10 hours instead of the usual 12. However, with the sort of day it has been I am glad I didn't have to work the last 2 hours.It has been one of those days where nothing has gone right. Patients have been shipped in the Clinical Decisions Unit from A&E not because they need further tests which can be arranged by us, or because they need to be observed for a

The little things you miss

2006-02-20T15:34:00.000Z

CDU/obs ward/critical care is absolutely amazing and I am loving it so much despite the severe sleep deprivation I seem to be having at the moment. What is it with locums who don't turn up to complete their shifts? Not on. At all.However, whilst being totally rushed off my feet I have to say I noted why I missed working nights on MAAU which were a lot more relaxing than here, as nights here seem

Now I know why I became a medic

2006-02-06T12:30:00.000Z

After reading Shiny Happy Person's comment about her name being the link for Random Acts of Reality's blog, I attempted to change it. Only to find that when I accessed the template page I had the links up for both Shiny Happy Person and Random Acts of Reality on separate lines and in separate links. So now I am confused (and it does not take a lot really). So instead I have decided to leave it be

Over a month ago

2005-11-01T10:58:00.000Z

That was the last time I posted, that's very bad isn't it? Well I guess not a lot has been happening, patients keep being admitted, transferred and discharged, some readmitted and some go to the lovely Rose Cottage (euphemism for the morgue). Meanwhile the doctors keep going around stressed, in a world of their own and contemplating their futures. The days of me reacquainting myself with A&E in a

Thank god for locums

2005-09-29T12:02:00.000+01:00

I went to my GP yesterday who actually was sick, so I saw another (very nice) medic who graduated the year before me and so understood the hell of being an SHO and understood that I wanted to be a registrar but wasn't sure if I was capable of passing the exams and that I was very stressed at work and didn't know how to cope. In fact I think I walked in and sounded fairly desperate because she

I think I'm semi-famous

2005-09-27T12:50:00.000+01:00

Hello... it's me... that random person who should be writing this blog but has in fact been snowed under at work due to a registrar's decision to move NHS trusts. Great. Thanks. A lot.Well I have to start studying for my advanced exams to let me become a registrar which means I am also getting to spend a couple of shifts a week in A&E doing 'liaison work' which in effect means I am an extra pair

Job opportunities

2005-09-07T13:06:00.000+01:00

I seem to have neglected my blogging so on my day off I thought I'd write an update, although I sense I do not have a lot to write.So finally I have a day off and then tomorrow I start back doing day shifts which tend to be terminally boring. Everything on a night shift seems to happen at double speed and because it is dark I can't see my awful surroundings that much (most of the time I can't

Friday night is "why oh why did I choose this job?" night

2005-09-03T16:35:00.000+01:00

I sat for most of last night wondering why I left the stressful yet fast-moving rotation of A&E behind to enter the equally stressful yet slower pace, and lower pay, of MAAU. To me it seems it is the same job, except we retain patients for longer than 4 hours and therefore tend to get them whinge at us more frequently, and we also have fewer doctors on duty at the same time. Usually we have a

Day One of Bloglife

2005-09-02T17:19:00.000+01:00

As this is a personal blog about my job and my life I should start by telling you about my day. Today actually started at about 2pm for me as that is when I woke up and it was September 2nd. I did a night shift last night on MAAU and although Thursday isn't usually a bad day this one had it's exceptions. A&E was bursting at the seams by approx. 10pm so all urgent, yet not life-threatening cases

Introduction

2005-07-25T19:02:00.000+01:00

Welcome all to this soon-to-be amazing blog, about me!A few little facts about me for starters then.I am a 26 year old female Senior House Officer (Junior Doctor) working on a Medical Admissions & Assessment Unit in a busy inner-city hospital in the North of England. I graduated in 2002 from King's College London, with a 2:1, and did my initial training in the same city. In 2003 I moved North and