dear luca
Table of contents
background
got elected well-being officer today for the isle of wight junior doctors committee. your nerdy semi-psychotic diary boy who can somehow run has a new job! anyway, so we’re given emails of soon-to-be first year doctors as part of a buddy scene. my boy is called luca.
foreword
so luca, i’ll meet you one day. sorry but it won’t be anytime soon. got annual leave. and frankly, i’ll probably forget you’re my son. its not personal, its just intentional. so my duty is to all the first year doctors and i can’t pick favourites. wait did i mention i was the well-being officer? anyway if you’re reading this - great, you’ve found what i really wanna tell ya.
dear luca
soon enough, you’re gonna become the biggest athletic casanova this hospital has ever seen. a great first year doctor. here’s how.
you and you
can wax lyrical about this. all the stuff you did at uni – just continue to do it. easy to say now. but once work begins make sure you continue to just get out the house. anecdotally the first year doctors that do enjoy the year – have actually just got out the house more. netflix, youtube, nap, more shit youtube - just do what you want - but just get out the house. anecdotally, the f1s that do just that have more fun.
chat to your mates
the reality is a lot of this rural district general is a game of who you know. and the best way of figuring out the people who can make things happen is by chatting with your mates - who’s good, who’s bad and who can you trust when shit hits the fan. trust me shit will hit the fan. just hope you’ve got a good egg to back you up.
ask for help
you’re the ward puppy. so long as you make yourself known - introduce yourself by name - with a smile and enthusiasm to help - people will be keen to help. they know half an hour ago you were at nursery so the expectation bar is nil. if the bleep isn’t answering, just ask the nurses ‘what would they do.’ mate some of these nurses have been on these wards for 15 years but believe me they have an encylopedic memory. they may not remember your name but they’ll remember the good and the bad much more than any doctor. do some good somehow someway - you’ll have a lot less shit to deal with than the average first year doctor.
continue to ask!
pay close attention to things. blood forms. where patients are going next. home or ward. are the major scans requested. anticoagulation and follow-up. some of these ward rounds will be an utter breeze. don’t be afraid to question what to do next.
don’t be afraid
you’re gonna get some really tough situations. stuff you’ll be like bloody hell - how - what - why. if you have a crack and a fair crack - escalate through your means as recommended. communicate your concerns when you’re concerned. inform others as needed.
the consultants have seen decades of juniors - they’ll have a picture in mind of their expectations of a junior. they’ll know the difference between someone that’s surviving vs. someone thriving. if you take on a difficult situation (i mean no one really knowingly takes on a difficult situation - they just get put in it) - but if you take it on, at least slightly better than how the average first year would perform, you’ll get rewarded. and costa is the currency of success.
mate i’m genuinely more worried
opening few days - if you got a second year doctor, just stick with them like glue. you’ve worked your tits off to be here. so just enjoy the ride of working life man. somehow some way the island is actually right.