the UKCAT, other wards and other work

Today I completed my 40th hour of driving lessons. I am literally so close to passing it unnerves me...so there I was excited to be booking my test. And guess what? The next available date is in NOVEMBER. What the hell?! (I've also suddenly just realised that my test date I've booked is actually the same day I start at my local hospital...I'm going to have to change it ! :S)

I have been ploughing on ahead with the UKCAT revision which is all good. I do feel like I'm getting better which is always a positive sign...

So far I feel and have always felt that VR was my best section. There have been countless examples of students doing exceptionally high on every section but the VR - so I don't know whether I will actually do as well as I practise.

QR is my worst. I just don't think that fast and I have a natural tendency to check my answers which eats up time. What I must remember on test day is: any question with too much information / looks difficult, guess, flag and move on.

AR is getting better. I find it a bit tedious, and the rules a bit unreal but we are making progress.

DA was my worst section last year. Don't ask me how, when it's obviously the most time leniant and probably the most straightforward. So far (which is actually very little with DA), it seems fine though... lets hope it stays that way!

One of the fun things that happened recently on the ward was we were given an additional HCA because we were short staffed (no changes there) - and guess what, she is also applying to medicine this year! She had done the UKCAT earlier that morning and had gotten an amazing 740!! She was a biomed grad for St Georges - it's just always lovely to meet people in the same situation as you when your feeling a bit suicidal in your job.

The other thing is, she was describing the differences between her ward, and mine. Her ward sounds lovely. She has never wiped a bum. Maybe provides a bedpan or commode. All pretty independant ladies. They get at least 4 staff as a minimum on their night shifts. I am so. Jealous. Goes to show that it's not as bad elsewhere in the hospital! Particularly as that aggressive patient is slowly making my life a misery. Last shift he squared up to my face and just yelled, about as loud as an old man can, "BLAHBLAHBLAHBLAHLBLAHFKJHSDAFD," and then told me I was "a fucking useless moron,". He would scream similar things in my face whenever I walked by. Swings and roundabouts.

In other news, despite my full time work at the hospital I am still taking the odd shift at the sports ground. Working behind the bar there for a good 12 hours once seemed like a daunting task and quite exhausting. It seems like a holiday in comparison to a shift on my ward.
It's so nice to be surrounded by people my own age again with a similar outlook to things. On my ward I work with mainly 40 somethings. I am the youngest by far, and definitely in the minority as an under-30. Not going to college and things means that I don't really get to meet / hang around with my age any more - but thanks to the sports ground, I still get to chill out, work and get paid and meet loads of other great young individuals. So despite the fact it makes nearly 0 difference to my pay and actually just takes more of me time, I continue to do it because of the people. And perhaps that's one of the things my ward is lacking - friendly people of my age I can relate to. I hope it's different when I move.

KAPLAN this weekend.

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