The End of My Time in GP

Officially rotated to Psychiatry this week and it is quite a change from life in General Practice. I really enjoyed my time in GP though- even more convinced that it’s definitely a possibility for me in the future, exciting times!

So here are some of the highlights from my GP rotation:

What was I good at? – Managing to keep within time constraints of my consultations. I started off with half an hour allocated for appointments, and by the end of November I was seeing patients in 10 minutes and having full clinics like the actual GPs, so that was quite a huge improvement in my history taking and assessment skills.

What made me nervous? – Seeing babies and children. Everytime I saw a child on my clinic list I got a bit shook, because I was worried I didn’t know enough to assess/diagnose correctly, as well as nervous about dealing with anxious parents. I ended up bringing most children in to see in person just in case, and they ended up being some of my most memorable appointments because little kids are so cute and hilarious.

Useful thing I’ve learnt? – How to do smears and vaginal swabs! My gynae confidence has really improved because I’m now much more experienced with vaginal examinations and managing gynaecological conditions.

The last time I cried at work was? – About two weeks ago, when a patient kept shouting at me because I didn’t prescribe what she’d read about online. She accused me of not caring about her condition, threatened to kill herself, saying I would be to blame for this, and then hung up on me. It was AWFUL. My supervisor had to get involved and the patient eventually apologised but my gosh, I was very upset by it all.

My happiest work moment so far was? – When I followed my gut and fought for a patient to have an urgent scan- he’d had a fall a month prior and I was calling to review his hand. It was only towards the end of the call that he mentioned in passing that he’d been having headaches since the fall, and this rang alarm bells for me. Anyway, he sent this to the practice after the scan confirmed he’d had a subdural bleed; my first patient thank you letter 😊 We thank God!

A memorable non-med related thing I have done: Got back into baking my signature banana breads in lockdown, but Boss bakes so much better than me and my efforts really pale in comparison to his. Sigh.

10 Highlights of the Last Decade

As I type this, it is about 20 minutes till we enter 2020, a new year and a new decade, so I thought I would round up with some of my highlights and defining events of the last 10 years. So in no particular order, here they are:

1. Become a doctor, ofcourse. I have been dreaming about this since I was 5, and I still can’t believe it’s actually happened.
2. Joining my local youth theatre company in 2009 caused my confidence to skyrocket. And I still credit a lot of my people skills today to performing in various plays from the age of 13 to 18.
3. Rupturing my achilles. This really changed my perspective on a lot of things and people in my life.
4. Going to the local boys school for sixth form. Those two years in a more academic environment had a positive influence that helped with university applications, and led to friendships that have changed my life.
5. My view on relationships has done a massive 360. I used to want to be a single mother with kids because I didn’t see the point of relationships, but I now know that was because I didn’t like anyone enough back then. So that has changed.
6. Separating from my twin sister for the first time in our lives by going to diffferent universities. It’s been a long, still ongoing process of self discovery, but it has been quite fun to find out who I am outside ‘The Twin’.
7. Volunteering with refugees and charity work has made me more political. I am very unapologetically left wing.
8. Going to university and getting through medical school helped me become more independent because I met new people, lived out for the first time and learnt how to ‘adult’. So winning the Batty Shaw Prize at the end of the six years was the perfect end to it all.
9. Travelling on my own (#neverforget the Cambodia adventures and struggles) and with friends was a very new and huge thing for me this decade.
10. Finally, discovering God and exploring Christianity for myself. Being away from home has made me more sure of my faith because I am no longer going to church with my parents as I did growing up, but now it is for me.

I conclude with a throwback photo of myself from 2009:

2019, you’ve been real. And what a decade it has been. Looking forward to what the new year and the next 10 years will bring. Happy new year!