The first semester has passed in the blink of an eye, as did the whole of 2016. We began 2017 with exams, which were harder and more intense than any I've sat previously. I went into these exams with a fairly relaxed attitude, I did some work over the holidays, but I enjoyed my Christmas and New Year. In all honesty, I headed back up to Stoke early in the New Year and left myself just over a week for solid revision. I did not expect that after our first semester they would give us an exam which required fairly extensive knowledge of the actions of chemotherapy drugs. Nor did I think that we would be expected to interpret images of CT scans after just a few months. However, I was wrong to be so chilled. They will test the full breadth of your expected knowledge in medicine. If something was mentioned just once or twice in formal teaching, it is still likely to come up in an exam. In my Biology exams, which were mainly essay based by the final year, I could get away with learning just over half the major topics and be confident that I could do well, as we were given a choice of essays to answer. I knew that this exam wasn't going to be like that, but I assumed it would focus a lot on the major anatomical structures we have studied, such as the heart and lungs. In reality, there was virtually no anatomy on the paper and there were quite a few complex physiology questions.
As well as a written paper, we also had 4 OSSE stations to complete. These are 7 minute practical exams testing skills we have learned, such as performing ECGs, patient interviews and blood typing. I like this style of exam, because I consider myself to be a confident speaker and performer, but again none of these stations were particularly easy and it's surprising how many mistakes you make when the adrenaline is pumping and the clock is ticking. The difficulty of this exam season has given me a small shock. Previous academic qualifications count for very little in medicine and if you want to be above your peers you really have to work very hard. Don't assume if you are a graduate that you will have an advantage, because many of the school leavers that get into med school are exceptionally talented and focused. Everyone that gets in deserves to be there. It's obviously important to have some leisure time, but my new year's resolution is certainly to go up a gear. After a stressful exam season and with the news saturated with stories of the 'NHS crisis' my resolve has been tested. On top of this, my father, who I consider to be an incredible GP, is having a really tough time with the health authorities at the moment. He runs a small practice which has 3 GPs, none of whom have any special interests (specialities in other areas). Therefore, his referral rate is much higher than other practices which are much larger and have doctors with lots of different specialties. This is because in these practices patients can be referred to other doctors within the practice rather than to secondary care (specialist hospital doctors). This means that the overall costs of dad's practice are higher and we feel as though he is under huge pressure to merge his practice, forming a large super surgery. However, the thing my dad has always loved about general practice is that he has a great relationship with his patients and knows them on a personal level, something which often can't be achieved at a large surgery. I too was excited about forming good rapports with my patients, but I just don't know what the future holds anymore for doctors. Our prime minister launched a scathing attack on GPs this week claiming that their 'lazy' working hours are the reason the NHS is struggling. However, this simply isn't true. Most surgeries are running with all doctors working more than full time, therefore how are they supposed to open any longer than they currently do? I just worry that the public won't see these truths and will turn against medical professionals. If we lose our trusted place in society then where will we be? I also see the stress in my father's eyes and am aware that after almost 40 years in practice, the last few have been the hardest for him by far. However, these are testing times for all of us. Medicine is still the greatest profession in my opinion and the politics of the day could never change my view. This profession allows for life long learning and provides huge job satisfaction. I am doing this because it is the way I feel I can best make a difference, whilst still having a comfortable and stable existence. Also, in a way these troubles are quite exciting - growing up I was hugely political, the state of the world did, and still does make me angry. However, I was a rebel without a cause - a middle class boy that really had very little to be angry about. Now I have a channel for that anger, I can qualify as a doctor and fight for our NHS. I can one day sit on a CCG and decide where the funding should go. I can do my bit to keep the public faith in doctor's. Finally, should we fail to save the NHS, should the country keep shifting to the right and towards total privatisation of public services then medicine offers a reward that no other profession can. It offers a passport to the world, regardless of Brexit, as very few countries would turn down our services. If the country shifts to a point where we feel we can't do the best for our patients, then we can move to a country where we can. Hopefully this fact is enough to ensure the government makes the right decisions, because they need us more than we need them.
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AuthorMy name is Stephan. I'm a 23 year old medical student. I like to travel, play the odd game of rugby and I'm very vocal on formula 1 fan forums (yes I am a bit of a sports nerd). Archives
April 2021
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