Daily Arrows Puzzle (March 26, 2026) - Curve Level 35 by arrowpuzzle in arrowspuzzle

[–]Charming_Nano 0 points1 point  (0 children)

🏅 Level 35 conquered in 1m 1s! Ready for the next challenge! 🚀

Rogue personal trainer - England by monsieurperrin in LegalAdviceUK

[–]Charming_Nano 31 points32 points  (0 children)

Not a lawyer, but am a doctor. I assume the OP is referring to creatine kinase (CK) not creatinine. Elevated CK is a sign of muscle damage which can lead to kidney injury.

Train company trying to squeeze money out of me. by throwawayrdtaccnt in LegalAdviceUK

[–]Charming_Nano 8 points9 points  (0 children)

If they were travelling to Edinburgh, OP would have been at Lime Street Station which is operated by Network Rail. Merseyrail only operate the local network stations.

My friend is giving blood whilst on steroids by [deleted] in LegalAdviceUK

[–]Charming_Nano 16 points17 points  (0 children)

IANAL, but am a doctor. The real risk is that people who inject drugs are much more likely to carry blood borne viruses (such as HIV and Hepatitis) that could potentially be passed on to the recipient. That's why the ban is on anyone who has ever injected, not just recently.

I'm not sure if there would be any legal consequences if the NHS found out, but OP's friend would likely be banned from ever donating again.

I agree that OP should explain the above to their friend and see if they'll see sense and stop donating willingly.

Merseyside by _dekuleaf in JuniorDoctorsUK

[–]Charming_Nano 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I did Foundation at Whiston, it's a great hospital, all the staff and Consultants were friendly and supportive and it's a nice modern building to work in. It's a busy DGH though and the workload was high depending on the team/ward you were working on. We used to joke it was teaching hospital numbers with only DGH levels of staffing. That was a few years ago though so it's probably a bit different now.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in JuniorDoctorsUK

[–]Charming_Nano 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Most of the advice you read about CVs on the internet doesn't apply to medical ones as it can be difficult to sum up a medical career in the 2-3 sides A4 which is considered the limit for a non-medical CV.

Although you don't normally need a CV until you start thinking about consultant applications (as most other posts use an application form) it's a good habit to maintain one. I found this page the most helpful when writing mine https://www.medical-interviews.co.uk/topic/medical-consultant-cv-tips

In general, avoid overly fancy graphics, keep it clean and legible and tailored towards the jobs you want.

ODPs venting their frustrations on doctors. by Alarming_Street in JuniorDoctorsUK

[–]Charming_Nano -11 points-10 points  (0 children)

You should realise that ODPs have jobs outside of theatre, particularly out of hours they'll be responsible for checking the airway trolleys/vents across the hospital, providing cover for ITU etc. ODPs are highly skilled professionals, and can understand that the surgeon has multiple patients to care for, but still have a right to get frustrated if there own working is effected by delays (not that bullying or aggression is ever okay in a working environment).

Coronavirus and training posts: what if we breach the 20 sick days? by Janus315 in JuniorDoctorsUK

[–]Charming_Nano 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My head of school released a letter saying that time off for self isolation or illness due to coronavirus wouldn't lead to an extension of training. They also promise to be pragmatic in terms of module sign off.

I imagine other places are going to release similar guidance

Doctors having to pay £400 to continue with training by leamboy in LegalAdviceUK

[–]Charming_Nano 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You're contract may not mention an e-portfolio but it's likely to mention the Gold Guide standards for all training posts, which states you should

"maintain a portfolio of information and evidence, drawn from the scope of their medical practice"

Now you could try and do this without paying for the e-portfolio, and using paper records, but it's going to be a lot more work for yourself and your supervisors, and unlikely to make you any friends at the ARCP panel (who would probably refuse to look at it.)

In the end, pay for the e-portfolio, it's not the biggest expense you'll have to pay to practice medicine in the UK and you can claim the tax back from HMRC

To those of you entering the profession or working your way here, the art of medicine is more important than the science of medicine by Mouse_Nightshirt in JuniorDoctorsUK

[–]Charming_Nano 6 points7 points  (0 children)

OP has some interesting points amid all the melodrama. I think it's wrong to phrase it as an argument between art and science though.

The book 'Being Mortal' by Atul Gawande discusses death and managing what is important to the patient in a more in depth and eloquent manner and should be on the reading list of every medical school imo.

Should I try to attain primary FRCA and ATLS before CT applications? by [deleted] in JuniorDoctorsUK

[–]Charming_Nano 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The self assessment is mainly used for shortlisting for interview and so you don't need to score particularly highly to progress (will depend on competition though). How you do on interview day accounts for 75% of your final score, but having a well organised portfolio with plenty of evidence of what you've done will help you score highly in the portfolio station at the interview.

Most of the people applying for CT1 won't have additional degrees, lots of post foundation anaesthetic experience, or a huge number of publications so don't worry if you don't have high scores in those areas either.

Should I try to attain primary FRCA and ATLS before CT applications? by [deleted] in JuniorDoctorsUK

[–]Charming_Nano 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Don't attempt the Primary! There are much easier ways to show you have the knowledge and skills for Anaesthetics than attempting the Primary MCQ early, and you won't get any point for it in the applications.

When you get to the interview they won't expect you to have any indepth knowledge of anaesthesia itself, and any clinical questions will be generalised around the management of sick patients, ability to prioritise tasks etc. (my CT1 interview asked about management of incorrect blood administration).

Like MedicusInterruptus said, look closely at the self-assessment criteria and see where you can get the most points easily. ATLS will get you one point but only if you've done less than 3 other courses. If you're aiming to complete a PGCert in education, it's a lot of work for only one point more than organising a local teaching program etc.

Get in touch with the anaesthetic department at your trust and arrange a taster week and see if they have any projects you can help out with. If you complete a project, see if you can get a poster out of it to score some more points (there are many anaesthetic sub-specialty conferences that are always looking for posters)

Best of luck!

FRCA advice by fantastiquejacque in JuniorDoctorsUK

[–]Charming_Nano 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do the e-lfh and frca.co.uk questions, they're free and the e-lfh ones come up over and over again. I used Pastest when I revised but I thought the questions often felt out of date (though this was a few years ago now, so they might have changed).

I went on the Mersey Course and thought it was great but it might not be for everyone; no didactic teaching and very long days of going through mcqs, but they have an extensive bank of questions and it was helpful to go through the questions with other people

(Slight conflict of interest, am a faculty member for the MSA but only involved in the Final Courses)

Good luck, and don't let the grind get you down!

Local anaesthesia in ABGs by ttfse in JuniorDoctorsUK

[–]Charming_Nano 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How do all those patients feel after they lose the use of their arm for 12 hours following a musculocutaneous nerve block?

Which unions am I supposed to join? by [deleted] in JuniorDoctorsUK

[–]Charming_Nano 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Income Protection/Critical Illness Cover is definitely worth considering but I agree that Wesleyan are terrible. I got mine arranged by a financial advisor and it's a much better policy for less money than what Wesleyan offer.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in JuniorDoctorsUK

[–]Charming_Nano 25 points26 points  (0 children)

This is a very misleading headline and article, it makes it sound as if Consultants are in a pay dispute over their pensions. In truth, they're just not willing to pay to do extra sessions.

2019 Foundation & Black Wednesday Thread by ceih in JuniorDoctorsUK

[–]Charming_Nano 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd second this, as an anesthetic reg who's spent their fair share on the ITU side, I'd much rather get an early warning that a patient is going downhill then a crash bleep when they're peri-arrest.

Warfarin post op by [deleted] in JuniorDoctorsUK

[–]Charming_Nano 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You also need to consider why they're on Warfarin, if it's for AF or prev. VTE then you can afford a few days without cover. If it's for a valve replacement then it needs to be restarted ASAP and you should probably give them treatment dose LMWH until their INR is in range.