Working 9–5?

What have I learnt so far in my first year of medical school? I’ve learnt what sepsis is and how you treat it, I’ve learnt why babies might pee out of their belly button and I’ve also learnt to juggle! Not the circus kind of juggling, the multi-tasking type!

Since Christmas this has been especially true. We have started our hospital placements, we had our formative OSCE to revise for, we also had our first reflection to submit and we still had all the usual lectures, CBL and self -directed work to do. In order to survive this I have a to-do list that is been constantly updated and a diary full of scribbles to keep me right. My to-do list is never empty but I do get a lot of pleasure from ticking things off and it’s a good reminder on a particularly hard day that you have achieved something, however small that might be!

I found our first official reflection quite difficult to do as it’s not something I have done before. Most of us are quite conscientious students and we are used to critically appraising our performance, but a reflection is quite different. It’s not always something you could do better in an academic or practical sense but perhaps you could cope with better.

The most important aspects of a reflection are your personal feelings, which are often difficult to verbalise let alone write down! I wrote my reflection on how patients with chronic conditions cope in the community and that while I had expected a set of medical problems I was actually confronted by very personal and social issues and how this actually made me feel quite uncomfortable as I was so unprepared for it.

Reflection is part of the junior doctor’s portfolio and professional development for doctors at every level. Getting practice while we are still at medical school may not seem that important at the time but if we can’t reflect now it will be even harder in high pressure situations post medical school without the help of our tutors!

While the juggling act during the day at medical school is difficult enough there are some of us, myself included who also work part-time. Many people choose to work a lot during the holidays to support themselves during term time but I’m working on an evening. Lots of my course mates work in health care part-time but I’m lucky to have found a flexible job on campus as part of the University Student calling team.

It’s my job to maintain relationships with graduates of Warwick and also fundraise with them. Sometimes going to work is an added stress I could do without but other times it’s a great way to do something that isn’t medicine! I also get the chance to call up graduates of the medical school and ask for tips and quiz them about their jobs - so I’m getting careers advice and getting paid for it!

I think it’s important to think about what you will have to juggle while you are at medical school before you get here, there are so many surprises at medical school that you can’t predict so the more organised and prepared you are the better!

Megan Earle : 05 Mar 2015 10:47 |  Tags: Joanne Mbchb Warwick |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem