Being a Medical Registrar
My thoughts so far
Emma BaileySPR Geriatric Medicine
Disclaimer
• I’m a new SPR/ST3
• It’s my opinion only
“I would like to do (geriatrics, gastro, resp…) but there’s no way I could/would ever be the medical SPR…”
……………………………….DISCUSS
How I ended up here• Graduated 2008
• FY1• Resp, Geriatrics, Surg
• FY2• Gastro, ITU, Oncology
• CMT1• Geriatrics, Neurology,
Community/Rehab• CMT2• Resp, Cardio, Haem
What I am expecting• Registrar training – 5 years minimum – CCT 2017• Moving around hospitals for 5 years inc on-calls/nights• Specialty Certificate Exam at ST5/6• Eportfolio…groan (but is always improving)…revalidation…
• Maybe….• +/- 1 year OOP - ?acute ?stroke ?abroad (more and more
opportunities for these coming up)• +/- time out for further education (?post grad certificate/masters in
ethics/law/palliative care etc)• +/- time out for family (and then ?less than full time – a lot of
geriatric trainees manage this very successfully)
• All adds time on to CCT!
What I was worried about• Medical• Being the (sole) decision maker• Procedures – especially out of hours• Not knowing enough/looking stupid• Missing something• Being in an emergency situation and not knowing what to do
• Management• Delegating/organising the team• Politics
• Workload/Stress• Being so busy• Nights/weekends/long days
The reality…• Medical• Being the (sole) decision maker
• It comes naturally towards the end of CMT
• You begin to become “an expert” in something
• Being the decision maker actually makes things easier
• You don’t have to trawl the wards doing the “****” – the mundane tasks are now someone else’s priority
• Less annoying bleeps (still a lot!)
• Your opinion counts
The reality…• Medical
• Procedures – especially out of hours• LPs• Paracentesis• Chest drain for pneumothorax (often effusions can wait)
• Lots of opportunity to learn, especially if you do specific jobs
• Central lines - continue to be an issue but doesn’t really affect me that much
• It feels good to be the only one around that can do something sometimes!!
What I was worried about• Medical
• Not knowing enough/looking stupid• You are constantly learning
• You will be surprised how much you DO know just from experience alone by the time you are an SPR
• Try not to panic and be resourceful! (internet, BNF, guidelines..)
• You CAN call the consultant• For help or back-up• They have 10-30 years more experience then you• In the day – almost ALWAYS consultant presence
What I was worried about• Medical
• Missing something• That’s why there is a team• Same presentations over and over again• Instinct is really important – go with your gut• If you miss something once, you don’t do it again!
• You can’t fix everything in one night shift – be patient
• Be thorough, then decide what can wait and what will make a difference/change management
What I was worried about• Medical
• Being in an emergency situation and not knowing what to do• You will have seen most of it • Usually too many people doing too many separate
things• Take control (that’s what everyone wants)
• It is easier, in my opinion, to DO something than to NOT DO something
• Leading arrests – either it works or it doesn’t • The arrest is the last bit in a long chain of events
An Example – when enough is enough
• Setting - Night shift, busy-ish, good SHO and FY1 (&H@N)
• EMRT call to ward• 76 yr old man with sats of 70% “End Stage COPD” “NIV
ceiling” but had been reasonably stable on ward• ABG awful – CO2 11• Then starts fitting (PMH epilepsy too)• By the time I get there team are about to give 5mg IV
Diazepam• STOP! Gave 0.5mg Diazepam IV (worried about
respiratory depression)• Fitting stopped….
• …Then breathing stopped• ****!• Gave Flumazenil asap• Started breathing again
• Then started fitting… twitching etc
• Ahhhh!!! • By this time NIV was on. (I knew this was a losing
battle really)• Call family asap• Gave Phenytoin (desperate!)• Still fitting 1 hour later – horrible to watch• Clearly deteriorating• Dw family – decision to give more
benzodiazepines to stop fitting and to remove NIV
• Patient passes away shortly afterwards
What I don’t like about it• Rigid following of protocols/pathways with no common sense
• Feeling out of my depth • Not being able to do a really good job due to workload
• Discharges/returns (or DVTs!)
• Confronting people/disagreeing with people (sort of!)• Irritated by laziness/rubbish clerkings/inefficiency – taking the flack
• Hard work – not eating/weeing regularly!• (Nights/weekends)
• Sometimes it feels like everything is your problem!
What I really really enjoy• Being the “one who can sort things out”• Being an advocate for a patient• Finding the details that can make a big difference
• Teamwork – getting to know people and having a laugh• Leadership/being looked up to
• Having your opinion count• Looking after the sickest patients – actually “saving lives”• Huge diversity• Less of the rubbish jobs! – can actually be easier
• My quality of life is better as an SPR• I don’t spend my time doing boring jobs, generally• More variety – clinics, intermediate care, teaching, meeting families
Why Geriatrics (for me)
• I like older people• I’m nosey
• Diversity – can never assume anything and people surprise you all the time
• Delicate balance between a complex medical background and unique social set ups
• Being good at medicine and basic principles• Being sensible when looking after a frail older patient
• Being able to admit you haven’t got a clue (but it’ll probably settle)
Why Geriatrics (for me)
• MDT/team – working with funny and generally non-pretentious people – no one is trying to be a hero
• Working for people with a subtle brilliance
• Challenging stigma and being an advocate for your patient, and winning small battles
• End of life care – getting it right
• Difficult communication – end of life and NUTRITION– being able to have the conversations that others hate having
• Delirium – when someone really goes for it!
Why Geriatrics (for me)
• The future is geriatrics and the academic and political world are starting to realise this
• Opportunities in research, teaching, travelling etc are growing year on year
• Opportunities to see a problem and fix it both on a small scale and larger scale are there in abundance
• Flexible training is do-able
• The money is good, locums pay well, job security and can work anywhere
My advice• Don’t be put off just because of being the medical SPR – it REALLY
isn’t that bad and a very LOW percentage of your time at work
• All you need for Geri’s is enthusiasm and to be a good doctor, but you do have to love it to be good at it
• As you progress, it all gets easier
• If in doubt do CMT whilst making your decisions – it will do no harm and will only help you in whatever specialty you end up doing
• Shadow me/carry my bleep for the day with supervision and see what you think
• Email me if any questions• [email protected]
My advice
•Don’t be put off by being the medical SPR•Don’t be put off by being the medical SPR•Don’t be put off by being the medical SPR
Thank you• Any questions?
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