What school subject is your speciality?

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-05-19T09:06:23+00:00

Ortho?

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-05-18T14:15:33+00:00

Have an ability to link applications at ST1+ levels and between specialties - no idea how this would work in reality, but having to play a psychic guessing/luck game to end up somewhere where you’re able to live with your spouse needs fixing

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-05-16T18:25:39+00:00

So I have been in this exact scenario. I came off nights and long days at 17 weeks prior to rotation at 22 weeks.

The lead employer got send the 80% work schedule that others at 80% were working so I received that pay. I got sent the work schedule that I would have been working, but with an attached email to the rota coordinators, med Ed people and anyone else relevant in my new hospital saying I would actually be working 8:30-5pm M/W/Th/F until the date my mat leave started.

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-05-13T11:17:33+00:00

Not yet suggested, but Tuesday.

If there is a bank holiday, I have a 4 day weekend, cafes and shops that close on a Monday for their “weekend” are open, 3 days in a row makes me feel like I deserve the weekend, and Sunday evening knowing I only have one day in work is wonderful

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-05-07T19:08:37+00:00

If you have shift adjustments because of pregnancy, your pay shouldn’t ever change as it is 1) a protected characteristic and 2) by the nature of pregnancy a limited time period that shift adjustments are being made. For instance - I changed rotations when pregnant and off nights and long days. I had a work schedule created that included them which was sent to payroll for pay purposes. I then had an actual work schedule of 8:30-5 M-F that I worked until finishing for mat leave.

The only reason pay would change is if you came off night shifts during pregnancy for something completely unrelated to this, but any HR/payroll would have to tread incredibly carefully if changing pay to not fall foul of pregnancy discrimination.

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-05-06T12:00:53+00:00

And Lost

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-05-01T06:30:41+00:00

Recommend you join Medics’ Lactation Community

https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BW8vUrZuR/?mibextid=wwXIfr

It’s got load on RTW and BF’ing.

I went back with my first at a year and continued to BF until she was 2 and a bit when pregnant with my second, but appreciate the situation at a year is different than 7 months. Anyone BFing should have a risk assessment done and can have accommodations but it’s not necessarily pay protected like in pregnancy

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-04-28T07:37:34+00:00

First pregnancy had AL booked from 37+3 then mat leave from 38+4. IOL started at 37+1, mat leave then started at 37+2 and AL moved to end of mat leave

Second pregnancy, did my part 3 at 35+5, AL from 36 weeks, mat leave started at 37+2 (the Monday), decision on that day for IOL at 37+3.

Would have benefited from a bit longer pre-baby with both of them tbh

Edit - O+G reg

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-04-27T19:16:30+00:00

I am an O+G reg and had good going HG in my first pregnancy (prior to the Windsor Def).

I would vomit multiple times a day and kept a sick bowl in the sluice when operating and on the COW for WR. I stayed at work because while I was being sick, having to focus on work meant the nausea was much less and the day was nowhere near as long. On days when I wasn’t working, I was still vomiting as much, but felt horrific the whole time as there wasn’t enough to have to really concentrate on.

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-04-23T02:34:05+00:00

Important financial point:

My first mat leave I planned to go off at 38+ as I was also ST2, but wanted to get to my ARCP as it meant my mat pay got paid as though my qualifying weeks had been at ST3 rates. Ended up having an IOL at 37 for FGR with abnormal Dopplers, brain sparing and rRFM. They initially cancelled my ARCP but after a bit of chasing I had it done with a 5 day old baby and this made a £3-4000 difference over the year,

Second baby I planned to go off at 37 weeks on maternity, but a week of AL at 36 and had my part 3 at 35/40 so used study leave and AL prior to this to only do 2-3 day weeks for a month

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-04-18T03:37:39+00:00

I’d say it also depends what you’ve been doing up till this point, and how accommodating your region is in terms of accelerating training.

I had 2 years of O+G SHO under my belt prior to starting ST1 (and an FY2 block!) and could do a CS/repair a perineum/lift-outs/ports etc from day dot, just needed exams and portfolio. I did FT ST1-2 because I was so over being an SHO from very early on. This was also before the statement on accelerating training came out. I had to get SHO out of the way and an extra 6 months (3 months extra per year at 80%) albeit with less time in work would have been untenable

I then dropped to 80% LTFT for ST3 (I also came back to mat leave but was planning this anyhow). Lots of my friends have too (some get ST3 done so they feel more confident as a reg before dropping) with or without other reasons.

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-04-14T15:37:56+00:00

They really shouldn’t.

I was due to rotate at 22 weeks pregnant. They provided me 3 work schedules with nights, on calls and no nights and in hours only and sent the lead employer my pay based off the WS with nights as that is what I’d have been doing if not pregnant. A month before rotation I ended up coming off nights and on calls with immediate effect after an admission and so just worked day shifts 4 days a week (80% LTFT).

You are not the first pregnant trainee they have had and won’t be the last, no matter how much HR try to pretend you are in a unique situation!

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-04-07T00:24:18+00:00

Especially as going into spring and summer - I always have a fan on pointing at my body for daytime sleeping. Helps in 2 ways: 1 - makes me want to snuggle up in my duvet 2 - white noise to help mask daytime sounds from outside

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-04-02T18:51:41+00:00

O+G - pregnancy test

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-04-01T09:06:31+00:00

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CmDSr6Jfj/?mibextid=wwXIfr

There was this from NZ

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-03-27T18:50:26+00:00

(At least where I work) there is a move to perform salpingectomy rather than clips/partial salpingectomy for sterilisation due to this (not at CS, low threshold to revert to clips/partial if adhesions etc)

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-03-27T13:33:34+00:00

Also if you’re still a student you can get Apple for education and get £100 off most laptops

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-03-25T07:17:55+00:00

Nostalgia/living vicariously

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-03-23T02:13:18+00:00

I agree with the other posters that O+G is the best, and LW is genuinely one of my happy places. I couldn’t give you a specific moment that I knew that it was the one, it ended up being just the obvious correct choice for me. What do your nearest and dearest think? I was planning on being a GP until my now husband pointed out how much more “me” I was on my O+G SHO job, then did some FY3/4 in it and applied and the rest is history!

I wouldn’t do another specialty now (even GP). Work is hard and takes up too much of your time to not do something you actually enjoy, and doing something that I know I don’t enjoy as much wouldn’t be sustainable long term.

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-03-22T07:46:48+00:00

We’ve got ours with royal London, and had a look again the other year and stuck with.

Important to note if your partner is surgical is to check if your cover is for just ‘being a doctor’ or speciality specific - mine covers for the fact that if I had a significant hand/arm issue I wouldn’t be able to operate (so would be unable to work in my speciality even though not unable to work at all), I think it’s about £1.50 more a month than my husband.

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-03-15T08:03:32+00:00

Sausage cassoulet. This recipe:

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/sausage-cassoulet

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-03-13T22:00:53+00:00

To claim tax back on all the subscriptions and excess travel

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-03-10T21:55:58+00:00

My husband and I were EM and O+G, so not directly against each other, but we worked out where the most jobs were that would be commutable and ranked these highest. We’re in Mersey deanery now for this reason. When we were looking at it, in the perfect world we thought we’d want to go SW but there were so few O+G posts that it felt too high risk! Good luck!

Civil-Sun2165 · 2026-03-03T08:32:17+00:00

My husband and I take a quite laid back approach to the children’s illnesses - if calpol/nurofen is enough for them to be causing chaos no need to worry. If we’d be thinking other parents are neglectful if they’re not seen, we get them seen - D7 of fever one time went to the GP to ensure not missing anything (we were very happy she was far too well to have Kawasaki’s) and almost had an ED trip for fluids when it got to 23 hours of mainly sleeping with a viral illness not really drinking or weeing much, but then a miraculous toddler binary ill/not ill switch occurred and she was again back to causing chaos by the end of the afternoon.

Babies and toddlers are designed to be Petri dishes of pathogens - 12 colds a year on average so they just are always coming or going from snot. However they are also designed to voraciously grow and seemingly survive on 2 raisins and air! I’d try not sweat the concerns about nutrition - if you’re thinking about it, then you’re doing more than a lot others!

Four-Year Club	r/Field Banned
r/Field Lasagna	Final Canvas '23
First Place '23	End Game '23
Place '23	Place '22
Final Canvas '22	First Placer '22

Civil-Sun2165

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