All entries for June 2020
June 02, 2020
Getting in a tangle
I’ve been trying to keep some sanity outside of Covid and try to keep my brain occupied, so, I’ve decided to learn some new skills and try to sharpen my existing ones.
Firstly, I’ve picked my books back up. I used to be an avid book worm, but I’ve lost it in the past couple of years. I have read an incredible book called The Rosie Project which just blew me away. I did not expect the protagonist to be on the autistic spectrum (made even funnier as everyone knows he is but him). I devoured the book over a week and I have bought the rest of the series. It’s given me a sense of closure as I can pretend it’s a follow on from the Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-time, my favourite book. I have also used up my audible credits and listened to The Prison Doctor. I loved wandering around campus listening to this as it tells the tale of the type of Medicine very few of us will get to experience.
I have also taken my crocheting up a notch by trying to crochet bumblebees. If you know me, I am obsessed with these creatures and I am hoping to create a little bumblebee bunting for my friend who is having their baby this month! It’s going ok, I just seem to be creating bumblebee fish at the moment… I am also trying to create a blanket for my dog back home. He prefers blankets to beds, so I am trying to make him a thick, comfy, soft blanket for winter. Progress is slow. I have also started knitting but I can’t for the life of me figure out how to get my work off my needles. So, for the past month, I’ve just had a square of material sitting on them. I’ll figure out soon!
A&E has been its usual self. I am getting slightly better at putting in my cannulas and can generally get a pink in most of the time. I had a brilliant nurse the other day who was showing me tips and tricks with cannulas, so I am hoping to get better and nail it for OSCEs next January.
The impact of Covid on our studies really has hit home. We had a whole year meeting the other day about coming back to training and placements. My third year placements will be one week shorter and won’t start till April, when we would normally start them in January. It’s scary to think we will have 8 weeks less to complete our learning than previous years, but I suppose in the end, it’s just a case of working slightly harder to get it all done. We don’t know if our finals will be affected yet and if the dates will change however, one thing is for certain(ish), our SJT will be in December 2021. Next year, I will be taking an exam that’s worth one half of my final mark... I was not ready for THAT hit of reality.
WMS have been brilliant throughout all this time and have been nothing but supportive. The Teams app has a virtual common room and a virtual café where we can chat. They have also been sending weekly updates including a spotlight on staff members. Shout out to Colin Macdougall for having the best taste in comedy (Foil, arms, and Hog) and for Emily Reid in making me feel bad that I have barely done any form of heart rate raising activity by doing every single episode of Joe Wicks PE class. I also like the fact we still have academic days as I get to talk to my year in my isolated bubble. It also gives me a chance to put my brain to use rather than writing notes from year group meetings.
We are meant to be returning to normality on the 27 July depending on how the country copes and how the third years get on as they go back one month before us. However, for now, I‘ll be working on my summer glow (hopefully without getting burnt) and trying to get my head around my SSC2 project!
'Til next time.
Megan Earle
02 Jun 2020 11:40
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Tags: Abbie Coventry Covid19 Hobbies Mbchb Warwick
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June 01, 2020
Viva la Peer Support
For the last two weeks, I’ve been continuing with my work on the Gerontology ward at University Hospital Coventry. Gerontology is care of the elderly and the ward deals with general medical problems in this patient population. Many of the patients have a condition called delirium which means they are acutely confused (i.e. the confusion is new and has a rapid onset). Delirium can be caused by infections or even just by being admitted to hospital, but it is often reversible and the confusion gets better when the patient's medical condition improves. In addition to this confusion, many of the patients have existing dementia, where their confusion and cognitive abilities are impaired due to this long-term condition. This has made it very challenging at times when trying to encourage these patients to eat and whilst tending to their personal needs as they are often confused when and do not understand what you are doing or why.
I’ve worked on the ward for two months now and I think while I haven’t done much actual medicine in this time, I have developed what people call the “soft” skills which I think make the difference between a good doctor and a great doctor. It is not just about being able to recognise a cancer, for example, but being able to communicate with the patient about what their wishes and needs are. Communication is the most important skill a doctor has to have and is the cornerstone of what doctors call the ‘therapeutic relationship’ – a partnership between doctor and patient. When trying to communicate with confused patients, it is crucial to speak very clearly (which can be difficult wearing a mask), and I definitely think my own communication style has changed. Since I was a child, I have always spoken very quickly in general, to the extent that I used to get told off as a child because no-one could understand me! I also had a stutter for certain periods of my childhood, and I think working with these patients where communication is absolutely fundamental has led to lasting changes in the way I verbally communicate. I would say the speed of my speech when talking to patients has slowed down and I use clearer phraseology. I also have learned that if someone doesn’t understand, that is it essential to check if they usually wear a hearing aid and, indeed, if it is turned on!
I have really started to miss studying. It sounds strange when most people hate studying, but I find learning and working towards the goal of finally qualifying one of the most satisfying things in my life. There is a strange sense of dislocation when a goal you have worked towards for 3+ years suddenly seems further away and the goalposts shifted. I think the sense of dislocation comes from the questions and uncertainty due to COVID. Will we restart placement in July as the Medical School has planned? When will our final exams be? Will we have an elective period? Will we be as well equipped to pass finals as the students who have gone before us with potentially less time on placement? Healthcare students around the world face the same dilemmas and uncertainties and I hope things go back to normal soon for all of our sakes.
One flash of light in all of this uncertainty has been a revival of peer support. Warwick is known for being very strong when it comes to peer support, which is when the years above run sessions and teach to help the younger years. Our fantastic finalists have been true to that tradition and have been running online sessions to help us with some of the questions we have. They have done sessions on our final exams and what helped them, as well as practical tips for getting through this period. I think having this support run online at this time has certainly given me hope that we will come through this and be able to rise to the challenge of finishing the course successfully. It’s comforting to have support from those who have been through it and come out the other side.
Hattie Trigg
01 Jun 2020 15:54
| Tags: Coventry Covid19 Hospital Mbchb Patients Student Wards Warwick Wms
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