Sunday, July 27, 2008

Thank God that's over with!


WHOHOOOOOOO!!!!

Have finished my GP block and am SO happy! I have massive respect for GP's after this placement as I never before realised that they have such a tough job. At least on a ward, you get to be part of a team and can order tests and scans to help. I reckon that if you were less than confident in your own ability as a doctor, being a GP would be impossible. Most of the time, the patients coming to see you have common conditions such as UTIs and chest infections, but every now and then it seems that one of them actually has something serious and the skill seems to be picking these up.

I have watched public opinion turn against GPs this year and the rants in the press by the likes of Carole Malone make me sick. I have no doubt that this backlash wouldn't have happened if GP's were not found out to be earning such good money. It really, really annoys me to see that so many people begrudge GPs earning decent money.

Anyway - that placement is over so I now have three weeks on an "Elective" and then four weeks holiday. WOOP WOOP!!

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

How things can change


Oh shite - how things have changed since my last entry, when GP land all seemed so good. I didn't know if I would write about this but I am going to because it has had such a profound effect on me.

On the first week of this placement, I was timetabled to do a clinic with a GP whom I hadn't met. Before I went in, a few of the receptionists commented that the GP was a bit of an odd one but I thought nothing of it and went in like a lamb to the slaughter. My first impressions of him: "Who is this knob"

This guy ripped me to shreds in front of every patient. Nothing I said was right - he even picked me up on how I pronounced "gastrocnemius" (Apparently I did not say the "c" succinctly enough) He also told me off for wearing gloves to test a urine sample (WTF???!!)("Why are you wearing gloves - you could drink that urine")

Even after one clinic with him, my self confidence was battered - I stayed on a downer all night. The next day, I was back in medical school for training, and a different GP and my fellow students watched a video of one of my consultations. The GP made me stop my video three times, asking who this GP was and why he kept interupting me. I later had a call from the medical school to say that they were concerned with what they had seen and did I want to do anything about it.

Now it is worth me reminding you that I am no spring chicken - I am actually the same age as this GP. I am not a complainer because I feel that in medical school, complainers get labelled as problem children. I decided not to do anything about him but to give it time and see if things settled (I am starting to sound like a proper GP)

I also felt that the knob had a point - I did not know as much as I should have.

So over the next three weeks, I continued to turn up and his behaviour towards me became progressively worse. The culmination was this week, when I sat on the sofa and decided that I was not clever enough to do medicine. I was pretty much at rock bottom and realised that this chap had managed to bring me so low that I had lost every shred of my confidence.

So I finally did something - I told the practice that I couldn't do any more clinics with him. I now feel like the problem child that I knew I would feel like but the thought of sitting in his clinics is so horrific that I will put up with it.

It amazes me that knobs like this can have profound effects on us when we are adults. I would have thought that as you get older, your ability to cope with these characters gets better and I would not have thought that at my age, working with this bloke could have been so detrimental to me. I also realise that although my medical knowledge is...shall we say sparse in many areas, this is actually OK because I am only a 2nd year medical student!

The conclusion of this is that I have hated this placement. The other GP's have been brilliant with me, but I have a bad taste in my mouth because I feel that they all know what he is like and decided to put me with him anyway.

PS. As from yesterday, I am no longer a rectal exam virgin. EEWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

About Me

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I knew I wanted to study medicine from 5 minutes into my nurse training in 1992. This didn't go down too well with my peers but it has taken me eleven years to get my life in a place where I could apply to medical school, so I have paid my nursing dues! I was lucky enough to get two offers. I have been married for seven years to an ex footballer who is now a PE teacher. We have no plans for babies but I would love more King Charles Spaniels. I start medicine on September 20th 2006 and am absolutely petrified.