Endocrine - not for me
Following my respiratory block, I had 6 weeks placed at a DGH on an endocrinology placement. First off - let's have a little chat about DHS's: christ it was quiet. It made a very dramatic change from the busy hospital I am usually at, it was eerily quiet, there were just as many doctors (I felt), who were actually at times, bored. Despite being on AMU, one of the busier wards with a high patient turnover and a range of ages, conditions and presentations, it was actually... a bit dull. There were also two firms (two groups, with a different consultant lead) again, exhausted all the patients quite quickly.
We were also given a "WOW" week; Week On Ward. This is when our whole firm was permanently on AMU, and we rotated through being on a ward round, having "history taking", or Phlebotomy / Cannulation. I was most looking forward to having my blood taking skills improve and with a total of 12 hours timetabled just for this activity, I was thanking God I had the opportunity. And guess how many bloods I took? 0. Nil. Not a single one. There just weren't any patients...
Endocrinology - while in theory is quiet interesting and despite having 7 million clinics on this placement, I enjoyed the endocrine clinic the most. This was mainly due to some fantastic teaching by the consultants. I learnt a lot quiet quickly and I found the feedback loops of hormonal regulation quite satisfying to learn about and treat. Despite this, endocrinology as a whole is just flooded with diabetes. Diabetes - not so interesting. We would literally have a Nurse led diabetic clinic in the morning, followed by a diabetes clinic with our consultant in the afternoon and then a diabetic foot clinic the next day (vom. rank. absolutely rank) and it was just... mind numbing.
When I first got to this DGH, where the education centre had just been shut down, we only ever spent time with the one other person we were timetabled clinics with, it was quite isolating. I hated the isolation more than anything. The teaching was good, consultants were eager, people didn't mind having us around. I thought the 6 weeks were never going to end to be honest. And it was a long six weeks. My attendance dropped dramatically by the last two weeks. Having been to one Nurse led clinic, I didn't feel I was going to gain anything by doing another. Diabetic foot clinic again? No ta, i've just had my lunch. History taking sessions? Not going to waste 4 hours being rejected from every single patient on the ward, think i'll just do some work at home. It was also a solid 45 minute drive each way and as one of the only drivers; it was shit.
Overall, fine, learnt lots, but never again.
We were also given a "WOW" week; Week On Ward. This is when our whole firm was permanently on AMU, and we rotated through being on a ward round, having "history taking", or Phlebotomy / Cannulation. I was most looking forward to having my blood taking skills improve and with a total of 12 hours timetabled just for this activity, I was thanking God I had the opportunity. And guess how many bloods I took? 0. Nil. Not a single one. There just weren't any patients...
Endocrinology - while in theory is quiet interesting and despite having 7 million clinics on this placement, I enjoyed the endocrine clinic the most. This was mainly due to some fantastic teaching by the consultants. I learnt a lot quiet quickly and I found the feedback loops of hormonal regulation quite satisfying to learn about and treat. Despite this, endocrinology as a whole is just flooded with diabetes. Diabetes - not so interesting. We would literally have a Nurse led diabetic clinic in the morning, followed by a diabetes clinic with our consultant in the afternoon and then a diabetic foot clinic the next day (vom. rank. absolutely rank) and it was just... mind numbing.
When I first got to this DGH, where the education centre had just been shut down, we only ever spent time with the one other person we were timetabled clinics with, it was quite isolating. I hated the isolation more than anything. The teaching was good, consultants were eager, people didn't mind having us around. I thought the 6 weeks were never going to end to be honest. And it was a long six weeks. My attendance dropped dramatically by the last two weeks. Having been to one Nurse led clinic, I didn't feel I was going to gain anything by doing another. Diabetic foot clinic again? No ta, i've just had my lunch. History taking sessions? Not going to waste 4 hours being rejected from every single patient on the ward, think i'll just do some work at home. It was also a solid 45 minute drive each way and as one of the only drivers; it was shit.
Overall, fine, learnt lots, but never again.
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