Learning How to be an F1: It’s More Than Just Writing in the Notes!

Now that final exams have become nothing but sweet memories, we are currently making our way through our final block at Warwick Medical School. This is Assistantship, in which we learn everything that foundation doctors in their first year (commonly known as F1s) actually do. It’s a transition period where we put all of our accumulated knowledge into practice, so that we can hit the ground running in August when we start working as qualified junior doctors. It’s all becoming a bit real now!

The great thing about Assistantship is that we have a sign-off list of tasks that we have to be certified as having completed, but we don’t have the stress and pressure of exams hanging over our heads. This means that we can throw ourselves into learning in a supportive environment without feeling like we are missing out on revision or learning elsewhere, or feeling bad because there’s something else we should be doing (like burying our noses in books). And of course we get to trail F1s, who were in our places just one short year ago. It’s very collegial. The sign-off tasks include things like being present for death certification, shadowing nurses on drug rounds, making sure that we can complete an electronic discharge summary (a major part of the F1’s jobs) and many other day-to-day tasks on medical and surgical wards.

We are also required to complete a couple of out-of-hours shifts with our F1s. This is to prepare us for our medical on-call shifts when we are junior doctors and show us what it’s really like. I spent an overnight shift with my F1 earlier this week and it was really useful. Many people are understandably apprehensive about these shifts, because we’ll be on call overnight and the first doctor that most nurses will contact. But the good thing about having a couple of these shifts under our belt during assistantship is that we really see how well supported the F1s really are throughout the night. There are senior nurses on almost every ward, and loads of people (like registrars and even consultants) whom you can phone to ask questions if you need to. It’s all about knowing when you need help and whom to contact. I wouldn’t say that I’m going to be an expert by any means, but shadowing in this role during Assistantship has definitely helped prepare me and set my mind at ease – and that’s really the point of the entire block, isn’t it?

It’s hard to believe that it’s all coming to an end now. We are all packing up our houses and our lives and getting ready to move to another part of the country and be actual doctors! I think it’s really helpful, however, how the medical school manage the transition. Assistantship is exactly what it should be: a post-exams period to help bring us up to speed with the daily tasks and role of the junior doctors we will be in a few short weeks.

Joshua Galvin : 11 Jun 2018 09:37 |  Tags: John Mbchb Student Warwick Wms |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem