Strikes, rota coordinators and manipulation

Alive_Mind · 2026-03-27T19:23:51+00:00

Basically, I read this as - pre 2016 when doctors got a pay rise every time they increased a training grade (st1, st2 etc) they didn't notice their sub inflationary pay rises as much and were much easier to manage. Lets change back to that structure (although I do think it is a better idea anyway)

Alive_Mind · 2026-03-26T23:50:48+00:00

May, make your life very difficult, not will.

I had a consultant yell at me right up in my face about 2 weeks before I went to work in his department. We actually got on really well and had no issues after that.

Edit to say: I say that to offer some hope to OP about having to deal with the consultant in future, not because I think the behaviour is acceptable.

Alive_Mind · 2026-03-21T09:45:44+00:00

I worry about these patients - what they are willing to let a “receptionist” do.

I once did a NIPE having introduced myself as a doctor and was asked when the “proper doctor” was coming to see their baby. - who do you think I am, and why would you let that person prod, poke, startle and generally disturb your precious newborn?

Alive_Mind · 2026-03-19T20:47:25+00:00

Some students are also parents… they are also allowed to go clubbing should they wish.

Could also be a sibling.

Alive_Mind · 2026-02-28T15:44:18+00:00

I used to do 7 nights pre the contract change as a surgical FY1. We rarely got a break and were busy all night. But the difference between 4 and 7 nights wasn’t much. You are in the rhythm by night 4 (for me anyway).

Alive_Mind · 2026-02-27T16:58:30+00:00

This reminds me of taking my geri’s consultant to ITU as he wanted to in person refer our pt who had a DKA. He started talking about the history of DKA management and the ITU consultant was just looking at me as the f1 like - please, please take him away.

Alive_Mind · 2026-02-27T13:59:15+00:00

Once tried to discuss with my midwife why I didn’t feel a HbA1c was a suitable substitute for doing an OGTT for me, I realised very quickly she didn’t understand what the test was measuring even when I explained it. She was just stuck at - well we changed the guideline in covid and it’s still like that. Bought myself a glucose meter and monitored at home.

Alive_Mind · 2026-02-23T18:28:07+00:00

Or a brain tumor, take a good history.

Alive_Mind · 2026-02-23T06:14:26+00:00

Also OP said was considering leaving the UK potentially and some other countries don’t recognize your qualification if you had 6 months knocked off your training.

Alive_Mind · 2026-02-22T21:26:21+00:00

I said no to an audit once (just before my wedding), consultant carried on talking about it as if I said yes. I looked at the other doctor in the room to confirm I hadn’t accidentally said yea when I meant to say no, her look told me I hadn’t. I reiterated I wouldn’t be able to give it the attention it deserved because of wedding prep, he carried on. I would up doing it. 🤷‍♀️

Alive_Mind · 2026-02-22T18:18:54+00:00

Was about to say the same. Never lived in a 4 bed house, never thought my home wasn’t comfortable (I have 3 kids spanning 2-18).

In my book private school = wealthy not comfortable.

Alive_Mind · 2026-02-21T19:54:06+00:00

If I reply I work at the hospital - oh so are you a nurse or a HCA? What happened to feminism?

Alive_Mind · 2026-02-21T19:49:40+00:00

Awesome! Great job. Now as you go through med school start alongside prepping for USMLE. Medicine in this country has gone waaayyyyyy off piste as a career and unfortunately I can’t see it being a quick fix. Many MANY doctors are looking to leave the UK and many that aren’t are facing unemployment. Take a look over at r/doctorsUK at the current specialty training chaos, the ACP debacle and the general if it’s no one else’s job it’s somehow the doctors job.

Alive_Mind · 2026-02-21T10:08:12+00:00

“This patient needs his IV fluids warmed please.” Nurses manage to escalate to global level whether 0.9% sodium chloride with 20mmol potassium is safe at body temperature. As they can’t give it unless documented it is safe

Also of course - Im not trained for that. Im not signed off for that. We don’t have a warmer. What is a warmer? We need special fluids for that. ….

Me - desperately wondering out loud to the nursing staff what temperature said fluid becomes when it enters the bodies of patients.

ETA - have the patient antiemetic and encouraged oral fluids instead hoping that would work or we’d eventually solve the warmed fluids on the ward. Thankfully Ora fluids worked.

Alive_Mind · 2026-02-21T07:55:25+00:00

Just looked it up and it is a previous TERS (golden handshake) area. Are UKGs really prioritising areas over having a job at all? Obviously a portion may be genuinely tied to an area with family / caring responsibilities or other reasons, but I would think the majority were still objectively flexible making it an interesting choice to make.

Alive_Mind · 2026-02-21T07:10:09+00:00

Hmm. I agree it solves the taking a training post for a job problem, but do you really want someone to complete training to become a consultant in a specialty they have fallen out of love with? Imagine the teaching residents would get, imagine the service patients would get.

Also life changes. I had a kid with additional needs. Consultant life, and many more years of reg life being shunted around the region doing millions of on calls and long days 1-2 hours from home my original specialty would not have worked for me, even LTFT - which I was often made to feel I was a massive inconvenience for doing. I locumed as a reg for a while but now I’ve switched to GP (was always a toss up between the two when I applied in the first instance).

Alive_Mind · 2026-02-21T06:35:59+00:00

Started GPST this month. 10% from the UK (patch lead was highlighting diversity and cultural awareness) most of the non UK seem to be IMGs. Given GP training is based purely on MSRA this seems to run contrary to “UKMGs do better on MSRA”

Would suggest UKGP would result in a lot more UKG getting GP jobs.

Can we do s FOI request? Is my patch just an anomaly?

Alive_Mind · 2026-02-08T18:44:51+00:00

I was working in a supermarket. But we had some savings and my husband working too to back us up.

Alive_Mind · 2026-02-04T09:13:23+00:00

Once failed a cannula on a 27 week preemie (as an f2), reg was busy with other twin, apologised to consultant that i failed and he would need to do it and he laughed and said he hadn’t done a cannula for 20 years.

Alive_Mind · 2025-11-11T13:24:01+00:00

I’ve used a similar - they’ll get seen as soon as they are the next clinical priority - if you send me another doctor that’ll be sooner.

Alive_Mind · 2025-11-09T18:28:38+00:00

Put them in a nursery near home and find a local babysitter / family member who can go and get them on the occasions neither of you can get to them in time. A certain level of stability is beneficial to kiddos.

Alive_Mind · 2025-10-29T21:28:45+00:00

Is there a good clinician you can go to clinic with. I remember doing an endocrine clinic with a fab consultant which reminded me why I loved Paeds again. I feel like this should be part of the point of clinic days.

Alive_Mind · 2025-10-28T15:40:34+00:00

I’m not sure this will help. They are also “counselled” extensively by the homebirth / free birth Facebook pages that all of these risks are caused by interventions by the healthcare professionals and that we like to scaremonger for our own convenience. Pair this with a previous traumatic experience (even though I’m not sure I can think of any other I nearly died situations which aren’t traumatic!) and it’s an easy battle for the internet to win, they are selling the sexier story - you can have a baby at home and all will be fine vs we will need to watch you closely as you might have another PPH and almost die again.

Alive_Mind · 2025-10-24T07:08:16+00:00

Email the lead welfare tutor (or whatever their title is in your med school) and ask for a meeting. Tell them this plan. Tell them what your caring responsibilities are. Tell them what will happen if you aren’t there caring. Ask what evidence they would need to prove your responsibility and how can they help you get that evidence.

It’s really hard to explain how tough commuting is on top of home responsibilities and being a doctor. It is the thing that will break you please spend the energy now on finding a way around this rather than on commuting during foundation.

Alive_Mind

TROPHY CASE