healthcare assistant round 2
Table of contents
summer research round 3?
A week ago last Wednesday, I was rejected from my ICR Summer Research Project. The reason? Ultimately, this time we decided to go for another candidate that has already experience on the topic that we will be working on.
That ends my third ICR application in three years. This time to an interview. An improvement but experience is lacking. Perhaps a more clear demonstration of my experience? How does that translate to working on future projects? Definitely felt an awkward interview. Embracing that awkwardness has also been a challenge in recent days.
healthcare assistant round 2?
A week ago last Thursday, I was given a conditional offer to work as a Healthcare Assistant in A&E at St Peter’s Hospital. There were no ‘well dones,’ or ‘congratulations’ from family members. The big challenge is Covid-19.
After a third family huddle, it has become clear that I cannot work from home. Precautions and checklists were great but media-provoked and insider-acknowledged fears are clear. Lack of testing. Lack of PPE. Lack of guidance. The decision is currently final. I cannot work from home. I felt prepared to handle this huddle. The prior huddle was sprung upon me whilst I was playing FIFA 20 -a dreadful game that I recommend no one to go through the pain of playing. It really does take clarity of mind to handle challenging conversations. You simply cannot rehearse a speech to handle this. This is not a press conference or a news bulletin. This is as real as it gets.
What will it take for me to work in clinical practice currently? Arriving home to spend time with family cannot seemingly blend well with being able to commit yourself clinically. This is a sticky reality.
In the meantime I’ve applied for an HLA Scholarship (last minute thanks to BST timezones with lots of supportive advice from the sister on my video application), begun to research epidemiological models and loosely done some background revision. There is more to do outside of clinical practice. Just not having the option to do so is very, very tough. For now, I’ve enquired about a reduction in rent to enable me to live outside from home. Speculative and hopeful. We will just have to wait.