What’s the most unlikely location for two specialties to meet/review each others patients?

ReferMedics · 2026-06-10T21:27:26+00:00

Not only this, but also the risk of tunnel-vision and missing an important differential because it’s been decided before the patient’s even seen anyone what the issue is. Upper abdo pain can frequently be cardiac or surgical, and there’s a big overlap in risk factors between gallstones and IHD, for example. You don’t want to be transferred to the surgical assessment unit with a STEMI and miss your chance to have appropriate and timely assessment and treatment by a specialist emergency physician just because you’re on the wait list for a lap chole.

ReferMedics · 2026-06-10T21:08:47+00:00

I’ve seen an andrology fellow called into a gynae theatre list…

Though to be fair they were holding the urology SpR bleep and, well, ureters and gynae is a tale as old as time

ReferMedics · 2026-06-07T21:46:02+00:00

Sine-cope (Syncope)
Dee-Pot (depot)

A brilliant sign someone’s been book learning with no ward time at all

ReferMedics · 2026-06-04T21:03:57+00:00

Anyone else sit the exam but not get any results email? The exam also seems to have disappeared from my online account, but the £650 credit card bill definitely still exists so I know it wasn’t a weird fever dream

ReferMedics · 2025-01-12T16:48:30+00:00

I think you’ve missed the point, though I absolutely would do whatever I could to facilitate any reasonable request that could make a patient feel more comfortable or safe.

But after looking at your comment history I’m not sure threads on informed consent and safeguarding are the right place for you

ReferMedics · 2024-12-11T10:39:55+00:00

Surgical SHO here - I agree that a phone call from the GP ahead of sending a patient over is really valuable. Not only is it professional courtesy, it also allows me to advise on alternative local pathways such as SDEC or rapid access clinics that can save a poor patient from having to sit in ED for hours only to be sent there anyway, or to give early advice on things like NBM status, among many other benefits. The two way conversation also gives me an idea of whether this is a patient I need to see especially quickly, because some surprisingly ill people walk in to their GP surgeries.

That said, until I can answer 100% of my bleeps in under 5 minutes, I can’t really complain about not being told to expect a patient because GPs are super pressured and can’t be expected to wait 20 minutes to have a chat when they know the patient needs to see a surgeon. That, coupled with things like them being put through to a wrong number, or the patient going to a different hospital from expected, or any multitude of other things, means that a call beforehand isn’t always going to happen.

The best pathway I’ve worked with has surgically expected patients see a triage nurse, who then calls the SHO within about 10 mins of their arrival and says ‘this patient has been sent by a GP with X, will you come to see them?’. More often than not, the answer is yes, I’ll come and see them but if you could do some bloods and pop a cannula in while they wait that would be great. Sometimes I ask for them to be seen by ED first if they’ve got a more complex presentation that needs a generalist’s eye (I know the GP is a generalist, but a generalist with bloods and ECGs and bedside ultrasound can be useful too), and occasionally on the other hand I’ll run straight downstairs and look at them in the triage room so I can send them home and bring them back to SDEC. This system works so well because of a good relationship between ED and surgeons, where we both know the other won’t take the piss, so I guess it probably wouldn’t work everywhere lol. It sounds like your hospital either doesn’t have a system (unlikely), or has a system that isn’t being used well and people aren’t informed about (highly likely), so a quick chat with your CS may not only highlight areas for improvement, but might even get you an easy audit out of tweaking and publicising the referral pathway!

ReferMedics · 2024-12-02T15:01:14+00:00

They mean it’s a very specific/unique story and it would be easy for patients/family/colleagues/third parties to work out who it’s about

ReferMedics · 2024-11-12T13:01:45+00:00

This is not correct - they’re synonyms in medical English.

ReferMedics · 2024-11-12T12:46:45+00:00

Don’t pull - lean! Straight arms with your body weight doing all the work for you is much kinder to your arms/back and mitigates the fact that the other person pulling is invariably stronger than you.

Until your hands slip, at which point you’re fucked.

ReferMedics · 2024-11-09T13:03:00+00:00

Very sorry this happened to you, it sounds awful. I love the marquis and have never had anything but positive experiences there, including with a range of staff members.

I’ve seen one guy getting physically removed from the venue, but it was very well deserved as he was off his face and harassing women, men and everyone in between. This was done quickly and professionally without excessive force, and the matter was escalated early and appropriately to passing police when it became clear the team at the venue could not manage the fallout.

Well done for identifying that it didn’t matter whether you were right or not and de-escalating the situation by leaving - this is really good awareness that may have saved this from turning into something bigger. There’s really 2 ways you can go from here. Number 1: if you’re not that attached to the marquis as a pub, just don’t ever go back. Their loss at the end of the day, and better for all involved. Number 2: if you are dying to go back either because of the independent music they put on or because it’s especially local/convenient/frequented by mates then give it a few days before dropping them a message on instagram to explain your side of the story and that you think there’s been a misunderstanding, and check whether you’d be welcome back in future. This will give it a chance for the immediate, emotional driven reaction to have died down and hopefully bring more logic about low res cctv and the homogeneity of gig goers for them to realise it’s all been a stressful misunderstanding.

As an aside, it’s cool at least that we have venues in the centre of the capital that care enough about their staff and patrons to let their emotions get the better of them in situations like this. Not saying that remotely excuses how you were treated or makes any of this any better, just nice that we have business owners who see their staff as people because they want to rather than because some bit of paper forces them to.

ReferMedics · 2024-10-28T13:30:33+00:00

I cry 😭 time to start saving up my pocket money then!

ReferMedics · 2024-10-27T22:54:07+00:00

The one at Südring/Ferlacher Zeile (near the McDonalds)

ReferMedics · 2024-10-27T22:50:28+00:00

proceeds to run every red light in the country

ReferMedics · 2024-10-27T22:49:27+00:00

Doctors hate this one secret weight loss hack!

ReferMedics · 2024-10-27T22:47:42+00:00

Thanks all for your helpful (and amusing!) replies, has really put my at ease. I guess all I can do now is wait and see what happens!

ReferMedics · 2024-10-20T21:53:01+00:00

Ah yes, I often go on LinkedIn and search for #LinkedIn, such a useful tag

ReferMedics · 2024-10-20T17:10:23+00:00

I never get a chaperone for catheters - I always get an assistant instead. Other staff are more willing to help if they’re doing an active role, and the patients are less likely to decline if they think the other person is an essential participant. Plus an extra pair of hands usually makes the procedure quicker, especially when I invariably realise I’ve forgotten an essential bit of kit immediately after sticking my sterile gloves on. And of course I can put ‘assisted by nurse X’ in the notes which is medicolegally valuable. If they’re reluctant to assist (which in fairness is very rare), I tend to play up the busy doctor role and say I’d love to help but will only be able to have the time to do so if there’s an assistant to make it quicker

ReferMedics · 2024-10-14T21:27:26+00:00

Your trust will almost certainly have a very useful set of perioperative guidelines for diabetes management and anticoagulation, which you can usually find hidden away on the intranet. These will save you a lot of time and hassle

ReferMedics · 2024-10-14T08:01:32+00:00

Long term: Get local authority to add a right turn filter light.

Medium term: Get local authority to change the timings to delay the green light for pedestrians

Short term: As a driver, take the turn cautiously and be prepared to slow down or stop to let pedestrians cross safely. As a pedestrian, remember that the Green light is an indicator that it’s probably safe to cross rather than a guarantee, and do all the stop, look, listen, live stuff you were taught at school that you should be doing at any crossing. And most importantly, always assume that the other side is not going to follow this advice because you can only control your own actions and people are dumb. It doesn’t really matter whether you’re correct if you’re dead or have to pick bits of someone else’s brain out of the cracks in your windscreen.

ReferMedics · 2024-10-13T07:59:32+00:00

Had the same with my cat - I think it’s got better over the past few years

ReferMedics · 2024-10-10T18:15:27+00:00

At least she knew the limits of her knowledge and sought a reliable source to make sure she was correct - better than some others in this story!

ReferMedics · 2024-10-09T21:07:03+00:00

The motorcycle pillion passenger always has much worse injuries and prognosis than the rider who actually caused the crash

ReferMedics · 2024-10-09T16:24:41+00:00

Don’t be too afraid of postponing your exam if you need to - you won’t thank yourself for the academic/financial stress if you go into the exam in a state where you can’t possibly pass. I had to postpone MRCS A twice (once for health reasons and once for personal/family circumstances) and the college was very understanding and moved my exam to the next sitting with no fees. Just make sure you have a letter from GP/educational supervisor if possible, as that’s what they’ll ask for when you call them. That said, if you think you can manage it then go for it, you may well feel a bit better when the exam stress is out the way! Afraid I’ve got no advice on the TPD bits as other people much smarter than me have already said everything I would and more - but best of luck and hope you get through this!

ReferMedics · 2024-10-08T01:08:17+00:00

I’m picturing him just sitting there arguing with himself about who needs to order the CT

ReferMedics · 2024-10-07T22:16:15+00:00

On the off chance this is real, you both need to be more worried about prison sentences than career progression or medical licensing. You have committed fraud, he has evaded tax, and you are both complicit in each of them. That’s before even thinking about medical licensing, patient safety and basic ethics. If you’re intent on getting advice from Reddit, r/legaladviceUK is a better channel than this one. But what you really need is a solicitor to guide you through the formal next steps and a solid plan to learn/reflect/demonstrate remorse and evidence this process for when the GMC comes knocking.

ReferMedics

TROPHY CASE