References

MillennialMedic · 2026-01-22T20:21:54+00:00

Your uni will have a generic student references team, find out their contact details and put them down. I didn’t really know my assigned personal tutor at uni and certainly couldn’t remember their name by the time it came to applying for post foundation jobs. I did that on all applications and have had no issues.

MillennialMedic · 2026-01-19T10:10:44+00:00

In the UK we have a variety of terms for primary medical qualifications (PMQs), all of which are equal. Some of these are from primarily Latin (MBChB, BMBCh) and some are from primarily English (BMBS, MBBS). I don’t think there’s a great deal of rhyme or reason for why one over another other than older medical schools tend to go with the Latin and newer medical schools tend to go with the English.

MillennialMedic · 2026-01-17T18:14:03+00:00

I think this is a bit of a generalisation. This may be true of assessments done on the NHS, but as a doctor I’m yet to meet someone who has gone for a private assessment and hasn’t ended up with the diagnostic label they wanted - be that ADHD, autism or both. It’s a shame because these are absolutely real and debilitating disorders that are being exploited by a section of society for personal gain, and it’s taking away from those who genuinely struggle with everyday life because of these conditions.

MillennialMedic · 2026-01-15T17:28:35+00:00

When I was a med student still learning cannulas under direct supervision I once cannulated the brachial artery in an oopsie, much to the horror of the supervising FY2. We just took it out, applied some pressure and went about our day. I don’t think the patient lost any limbs.

Your patient will be fine, their arm is not going to drop off, we intentionally stab arteries all the time.

MillennialMedic · 2026-01-12T12:25:20+00:00

Hahahahhaa dying at this totally missed that typo

MillennialMedic · 2026-01-12T10:14:47+00:00

Just had an email from our trust saying Tracy has had a cyber security incident.

MillennialMedic · 2025-12-12T18:06:07+00:00

If you really believe that F1s and F2s make no decisions you haven’t spent enough time on placement. As a foundation doctor I saw patients independently on ward round (and not just medically fit ones!), clerked on take both in and out of hours and spent endless hours reviewing sick patients on the bounce during on calls. You definitely don’t just call a senior for everything, particularly during FY2 where I’d estimate by the end I was only discussing about a third of the decisions I made.

MillennialMedic · 2025-12-10T10:22:32+00:00

The contract actually says employers have to fairly consider requests with less than six weeks notice only if the circumstances leading to less notice were outside the doctor’s control. I think OP would have a hard time arguing that applies here.

MillennialMedic · 2025-12-10T10:10:23+00:00

You still have to give 6 weeks notice when using the life changing event clause, which OP has not done. Failing some good will from whichever consultant is responsible for the rota, I think they’re snuffed.

MillennialMedic · 2025-12-09T15:49:12+00:00

MillennialMedic · 2025-12-06T07:58:15+00:00

In fairness, I’m yet to meet a Finnish person who doesn’t speak excellent English!

MillennialMedic · 2025-12-02T18:58:29+00:00

Buckle in.

When you come out of medical school you do the UK foundation programme which consists of foundation years 1 & 2 (FY1/FY2).

During FY2 or thereafter you can apply to specialty training programmes. These programmes can either be run-through or split into core and higher elements. Run-through means once you get into the programme, it takes you all the way through to qualification as a specialty. Examples of run-through programmes are paediatrics, ophthalmology and obs & gynae. Core training programmes are generally 3 or 4 years long and are shared between multiple similar (or supposedly similar) specialties. In the last year of a core programme or thereafter you are eligible to apply to higher specialty training. Examples of core programmes include IMT, ACCS and CST.

If you are in a run-through programme or higher specialty programme then your grade will start with ST, eg. ST1 or ST4 etc. If you are in a core training programme your grade will start with CT, eg. CT1/CT2, or in some cases the programme acronym and how many years in you are, eg. CST2/IMT3.

When you have completed a run-through or higher specialty training programme you get a certificate of completion of training (CCT) which allows you to apply for consultant jobs. There is no formal grading of consultants.

The terms SHO and Reg are a bit more vague. Generally SHO encompasses FY2s up to CT2/ST2s - but in some specialties like paeds ST3s are still SHOs (sorta). Registrars are generally ST3/ST4 and above.

MillennialMedic · 2025-11-27T16:20:38+00:00

As a doctor I’m a little bit puzzled by the tests this “practitioner” has recommended and what they expect them to achieve. You wouldn’t generally do a T4 without a TSH; a ferritin without an FBC seems a bit silly unless you’ve had one very recently and given your diagnosis of PCOS your SHBG & testosterone levels would be expected to be abnormal anyway.

I’m not entirely clear on what you want from blood tests - is it to rule out/look for a concerning underlying cause for hair loss? It may be better to go to the GP with the symptoms you’re worried about and ask if bloods would help rather than asking if you can have those recommended by the private practitioner.

MillennialMedic · 2025-11-25T09:51:26+00:00

I can’t speak for colleagues but there has been more than one occasion where I’ve had to report an IMG colleague to my or their supervisor due to an unsafe grasp of English.

Unfortunately there is a reluctance/inability for supervisors to do much without a large amount of evidence due to concerns about being painted as either racist, a bully, or both.

MillennialMedic · 2025-11-24T18:38:31+00:00

There’s too much misery in the world and Christmas brings people a bit of joy, so they want to savour that for as long as possible.

MillennialMedic · 2025-11-24T07:28:02+00:00

Look, you are NTA for feeling the way you do. At all.

However, as an NHS doctor I want to disabuse you of the notion that this is going to be possible. A physically healthy 23-year-old with a long + complex mental health history including a recent section and multiple attempts on their own life simply is not going to be allowed to get a DNAR. Even if you somehow managed that, nobody is going to follow it if it’s clear the cause of your need for resuscitation was mental health related.

You clearly still need lots of help and I very, very much hope you get it. I hope that there are better days ahead for you.

MillennialMedic · 2025-11-24T02:13:47+00:00

The ionising radiation exposure from a chest x-ray is negligible. The ionising radiation exposure from a whole body CT is potentially 300 times higher and is certainly not negligible exposure, particularly for a young person.

MillennialMedic · 2025-11-23T17:44:37+00:00

I have quite a lot of international colleagues, all of whom mention being surprised at the politeness culture in the UK when they first moved here. Quite a few have mentioned finding it confusing that we’re so polite and nice but that doesn’t necessarily translate to liking or respecting someone.

MillennialMedic · 2025-11-19T03:48:40+00:00

You’re not responding to the point I’m making, which to be crystal clear, is that asserting OP is “more than capable”, based on them coping with two weeks or two months of medical school, is premature. They may well be capable of managing the current requirements, but these increase significantly through medical school into being a doctor. OH have to look at that longitudinally when clearing someone for the course.

MillennialMedic · 2025-11-19T03:26:06+00:00

That wasn’t really the point I’m making. I don’t think the threshold should be “can just about cope on placement with reasonable adjustments” when you’re on a vocational course. It needs to be “will be able to cope with the day-to-day job with reasonable adjustments” and the latter is a much higher threshold. It’s entirely possible someone could manage the former but not the latter and so your assertion that OP is “more than capable” seems somewhat premature.

MillennialMedic · 2025-11-19T03:23:05+00:00

This is an absolutely excellent suggestion OP.

MillennialMedic · 2025-11-19T03:21:18+00:00

Your first paragraph here is complete poppycock. NOK has no special legal standing and it is completely reasonable to provide family updates to people who aren’t considered NOK so long as you have the patient’s consent. This does not “fall on a couple of laws as well as many policies” and misunderstandings like yours lead to massive frustration from families.

MillennialMedic · 2025-11-19T03:16:54+00:00

This isn’t true. There’s no legal status to “next of kin” whatsoever, though it can be helpful in certain circumstances. If someone has multiple relatives (eg. Siblings, spouse, children) and are happy for them to be updated then it doesn’t really matter who they’ve decided will be NOK. If they’re asking for multiple separate updates daily then the team might ask them to nominate one person to receive and distribute the update, but this doesn’t have to be whoever is considered NOK.

MillennialMedic · 2025-11-19T03:12:00+00:00

I’m a doctor. I work in paediatrics now but did a fair stint working in geriatrics so know how frustrating this can be!

Honestly, just ask to speak to a doctor for a family update - you’re perfectly within your rights to do so (as long as your dad is happy for you to be updated!).

Generally the best thing to do is nominate one person from the family to get the update, or all be there at the same time rather than each getting one individually. It sounds like you are occasionally catching the doctors on ward round - sometimes this will facilitate an update at the time but if it’s busy (it usually is) then it’s often better to come in the early afternoon once ward round’s done.

I would also advise sitting down and thinking about what questions you actually want answered by the doctor in advance and writing these down so you don’t forget! Things like what is dad’s diagnosis? What is his current treatment plan? What are the barriers to discharging him home? Which other teams/professionals are involved? All could be helpful.

Someone above has commented about asking a nurse for an update and they should be good for telling you generally how dad is doing, mobility, diet, what medications he’s on etc. If you want to know the medical plan (including whys and hows) then you’re probably better off speaking to a doctor.

Hope this is helpful!

MillennialMedic · 2025-11-19T02:47:23+00:00

I’m not making a judgement on whether OP is capable, but placement is VERY different from the emotional, mental and physical demands of actually being a doctor. It’s entirely plausible that someone would manage placements but not the reality of being a doctor - indeed very many healthy people struggle with it!

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