All entries for Monday 21 May 2018

Smooth sailing on the assistantship…

It’s been a pretty hectic few months, finals followed quickly by our Elective. When we arrived back from elective we went straight into the last part of our medical degree, the Assistantship. This is an 8-week block where we shadow the current Foundation year 1 doctors closely, so we are ready to start our jobs as FY1s in August!

Our assistantship started with 2 days of lectures at the medical school covering various topics about life as an FY1 doctor, including some top tips from current FY1s. How to stay on top of the dreaded Eportfolio and how to survive a night shift were topics I found especially helpful, if slightly scary to think about! The assistantship is split into 2 4-week blocks, with students covering a medical ward and then a non-medical ward such as surgery or psychiatry depending on what placements are available. For students staying in the local area one of their 4-week bocks will be on the ward they are due to start on in august, so they will have lots of opportunity to learn how their new ward works and soak up all the wisdom they can from the FY1 currently doing their future job!

For my assistantship I have started on A&E and then I move onto a Haematology Ward for the last 4 weeks, both at Warwick Hospital. Starting on A&E has been a great experience. The FY1 I am shadowing has been so welcoming and friendly and is full of helpful tips on how to survive FY1. In A&E I have been able to clerk patients as they arrive so have had lots of practice with my histories and examinations. If any patients need bloods taken or a cannula inserted the nurses have been sending them to us so we have lots of opportunities to practice. I’m getting better but still struggle with some patients, fortunately they seem to be the ones that even my seniors find difficult so at least I know it’s not just me! Getting confident with these clinical procedures is something I really want to do during my assistantship, if I can do the basics well as an FY1 the rest of my day will be much easier!

The FY1 I am shadowing also has some shifts as medical on calls, during the week this means covering either the acute medical ward or the ambulatory unit but on the evenings and weekends this means being part of the on-call team that covers the whole hospital out of hours. Having joined them on a few of these shifts, the amount of responsibility can be a bit overwhelming but that’s why you are part of a team. I must remember that just because I’m the FY1 doesn’t mean it’s just me-I can ask lots of people for help!

I’m looking forward to the rest of my A&E placement and then moving onto the Haematology ward. My first job is on a medical ward so it will be good to learn how a normal medical ward works differently from the fast pace of A&E.

Joanne

Joshua Galvin : 21 May 2018 10:15 |  Tags: Joanne Mbchb Student Warwick Wms |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem