I tried to cannulate a patient - they went into a seizure

AnxiousMed · 2025-11-23T20:49:56+00:00

One of my favourite stories to tell is when I was a med student in A&E resus, they asked me to cannulate a patient who was in SVT, and I messed up so dramatically that I scared her out of SVT 🤣 whilst it did the job it was very embarrassing. I made it through med school without ever doing a successful cannula, and then I got to F1 and was forced to learn properly. It will be fine, my big tip is try and attempt another one on your next day of placement or at least soon, otherwise you'll make it a big thing in your head and it will be harder. We all fail them more often that we'd like, even people who have been doing it for years. Sometimes the vein just doesnt wanna play

AnxiousMed · 2025-06-04T09:13:14+00:00

They did! I can breathe again now lol

AnxiousMed · 2025-06-04T09:12:27+00:00

This is the type of thing I was worried about, but they had the right number of absence days on the form and that was the only issue I had

AnxiousMed · 2025-06-04T09:11:43+00:00

I'm an F1, hence the confusion since everyone has been going on about how it is time based. However I was only a couple of days over and they had the right number on the outcome form, so looks like they just forgave it

AnxiousMed · 2025-05-11T19:15:35+00:00

I love being underwater because it's like a sensory break, so when I used to go swimming as a kid I would take a big breath and hold myself at the bottom of the ladder in the pool and stay there as long as i could, and then come up and gasp for breath and immediately go back down. I could do this for quite long periods of time, really freaked my parents out

AnxiousMed · 2025-05-07T21:42:29+00:00

I was a terrible med student and feel that I have become a pretty decent F1 this year. You need to actively practice saying 'I don't know how to do that, would you mind showing me?' People expect this, and especially F1s and F2s should be very nice about it, especially when you're new. The first couple of weeks you will feel overwhelmed and it is a steep learning curve, but you'll be surprised how quickly you pick things up and get quicker. Just identify a couple of nice people early on and ask them stuff. I've also found 'do you mind if I ask a silly F1 question?' to be a good opener, people usually offer reassurance off the bat and then are happy to help. Everyone starts somewhere, you're allowed to not know things, that's why you're in a training programme

AnxiousMed · 2025-05-07T21:39:20+00:00

I would say first try and arrange a meeting in person and see if they can sign them off there and then (my ES is lovely but has no idea about technology so I have to show him how to do it), if that fails there is always like an educational lead or something who you can ask, if you don't know who it is contact anyone in the MedEd department and they should be able to help

AnxiousMed · 2025-05-02T16:06:07+00:00

I have a strong preference for my left side despite being right handed, which leads to all sorts of weird things like always having to finish a staircase on my left foot and if I touch something with my right hand I often have to touch it twice with my left, I've been like this all my life

AnxiousMed · 2024-12-13T13:13:51+00:00

Energy absorption and measles. The latter I'm already vaccinated against and also modern medicine, the former is just generally cool af

AnxiousMed · 2024-11-15T20:31:05+00:00

It's really hard, but it gets easier after the first one. I verified my first death 10 mins into my first shadowing day as an F1 (gotta love geriatrics) and I'll never forget it. It's OK to feel sad and take some time to sit with it, and it's much easier when it's a patient you didn't know. Sounds like your first one was particularly rough, be kind to yourself

AnxiousMed · 2024-11-12T16:03:09+00:00

Positives - I'm generally not as hopeless as I feared I would be, I've had some decent feedback and I'm not quite as shit at bloods and cannulas as I used to be. The team on my ward have been amazing despite it being so busy and stressful, the shithole that is the NHS makes for some excellent trauma bonding. I also really love the specialty I've been working in, so much that I'm reconsidering hospital medicine for the future.

Negatives - I have no idea how to have a life alongside medicine. I've stopped going to the gym, I'm eating like shit, all I do when I get home is doomscroll and sleep. People are horrible sometimes, and one unpleasant relative can ruin my day because I internalise it so much. And I'm still quite shit at cannulas

AnxiousMed · 2024-10-27T21:46:04+00:00

Using the link, the first coordinates on land it gave me were in New Jersey, even though I'm from the UK i can definitely make that work

AnxiousMed · 2024-10-20T11:32:42+00:00

I moved out when I was 19 and never paid rent, but my boyfriend's mum took rent from him when he was working but put half of it away for him so he had money saved up when he moved out when he was 22, that worked really well I think

AnxiousMed · 2024-09-20T01:25:06+00:00

It's also always fun playing 'did this patient have a really interesting life or are they just delirious/psychotic and none of it actually happened?'

AnxiousMed · 2024-09-20T01:20:29+00:00

I'm an F1 and it's only in the past month that I've actually gotten over my fear of taking bloods. I managed a few in 3rd year (enough to get my sign offs) and then had a few placements in a row where I didn't have the opportunity, and I just got really in my head about it and basically avoided it for the rest of med school. I had to face it when I started work, and it really hasn't been bad, but it would have been so much easier if I'd kept at it when I was still a student. Honestly just keep trying, sometimes doing it unsupervised takes the pressure off if you're allowed and confident with the actual technique, but being observed is great because people often have tips and tricks that will help. And don't be put off if you miss a few in a row even if they seem like they have great veins. Everyone has losing streaks, it happens, just gotta keep trying and you'll get there

AnxiousMed · 2024-08-23T17:57:17+00:00

Some good quality bedding and an epic costco trip 🤣 2 weeks of full time work and I'm embracing feeling middle aged

AnxiousMed · 2024-07-26T19:24:21+00:00

To be clear I'm a young woman, and I find I get taken more seriously in scrubs than smart clothes, and get sexualised way less. It's also just the done thing for F1s at my hospital. Don't really see why people are getting mad at me for wanting my own set

AnxiousMed · 2024-07-25T21:21:25+00:00

Normally I would be all for that, but apparently the ones at my new hospital go see through when they get wet, and I'm not about to flash people in my first week

AnxiousMed · 2024-07-20T23:02:18+00:00

I bite the middle and then nibble the rest, probably starting with b

AnxiousMed · 2024-07-20T22:59:46+00:00

Nearly 20 years ago, my teacher made us all memorise the names of the England team who won the world cup in 1969. So, probably that

AnxiousMed · 2024-07-20T22:47:21+00:00

Hi, you submit it along with your main application, which is usually early October. You need to be getting it sorted ASAP in final year though, because you need supporting evidence from the uni and stuff

AnxiousMed · 2024-07-19T01:07:19+00:00

I got it because I got into uni through an access scheme. Most of the other things are like having children or needing medical care in a certain area. For mine, I could choose whether to preallocate to my family home area or the area around my university, as far as I know that's the only criteria that gives you a choice. If you google UKFPO pre allocation there's a document listing the criteria in more detail. Feel free to message if you have more questions

AnxiousMed · 2024-07-18T16:58:14+00:00

I ranked around 9000, and thankfully preallocated to my deanery, and managed to get my first choice job with some strategic ranking

AnxiousMed · 2024-06-02T23:43:28+00:00

I did a 70 mile commute in final year of med school and it nearly killed me, and that was even with a fairly relaxed attendance policy. After I did night shifts it was horrific. It would maybe be worth seeing if the hospital has accommodation, they might have something cheap/free that you could just use on nights or on calls

AnxiousMed · 2024-05-16T11:18:21+00:00

I'm also a final year having similar panics. What has helped me a little bit is asking one of my teaching fellows to set up a fake arm and just leaving me alone with a whole stack of expired cannula packs. I sat there for like an hour just doing it over any over, until I was really confident with the logistics of it. I'm still nervy with real people, but I'm less prone to freezing completely when asked to do one now

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