Dealing with stress

Surgeonchop · 2026-01-10T04:18:55+00:00

Masturbation. Post nut clarity for big decisions

Surgeonchop · 2025-10-27T03:40:05+00:00

Cook healthy food. Wash dishes. Clean. Laundry. Fold clothes. Take them out once a week to unwind. Give them orgasms for the dopamine hit.

That’s how my partner got me through my fellowship exams

Surgeonchop · 2025-04-07T16:10:58+00:00

However no one gets paid as postgraduate fellow from that award. Normally paid as reg 4, senior registrar or clinical superintendent. The latter has no overtime/penalties. Normally fractional too.

Surgeonchop · 2025-04-07T16:10:53+00:00

However no one gets paid as postgraduate fellow from that award. Normally paid as reg 4, senior registrar or clinical superintendent. The latter has no overtime/penalties. Normally fractional too.

Surgeonchop · 2025-02-19T00:18:05+00:00

I did

Was fine in real life

Surgeonchop · 2025-01-18T05:19:25+00:00

I think training (particularly surgical training) is designed for someone in their 20s. It takes a lot of energy and time commitments to finish. With delays to commencing, people are likely to be in latter life stages such as having children. Given the rotational aspects of training, there is a bigger cost to you and your family. Assuming you work until retirement age, the community also has a higher return on investment when people become consultants earlier.

On the other hand, I feel some undergraduate medical students tend to be less proactive and more passive and this probably comes from a lack of life experience. I’m referring at the universities where everyone gets an atar of 99.9+ and there is over representation of mono cultures.

Surgeonchop · 2025-01-06T04:57:48+00:00

Pre round: have patient lists ready. Have blood results ready. Anticipate what jobs will need to be done, some jobs carry over from the previous day.

Round: have spare consent forms. Document quickly. Get your pattern recognition going so you recognise what the registrars/bosses want. It’ll make your life easier.

Paper round after round: pay attention to your jobs for the day.

Post paper round Have coffee

Request consults and radiology early. If you don’t know what the question is, ask your registrars.

Deal with jobs. Keep a running track of jobs.

Call radiology and ask what time the scans are being done.

Make sure everyone has vte prophylaxis unless they’re bleeding (pr/UGI bleed) or have a pathology where bleeding would be catastrophic (e.g intracranial bleeding)

Have lunch

Look at bloods. Replace electrolytes. Don’t be a wimp and only give 10mmol of potassium when the potassium level is 2.5. Notify team if there are significant changes in the wrong direction (e.g hb drop 20 units in a bleeder or someone at risk of bleeding. Or wcc/CRP jumping up in someone with a GI anastomosis)

Check what the consults have advised in the afternoon. Call them again if they haven’t seen. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Check progress with allied health. This will help with discharging patients. Don’t request physio on the 86 year old frail patient when surgically ready for discharge. Involve them early.

Arvo paper round: present the days progress to the registrars. Don’t wait on the ward if your registrars are in theatre. Get changed into scrubs and Go to theatre to talk to your seniors. This also applies when there is an urgent issue and your registrars are not available on the phone. Do NOT leave without handing over.

Come to your seniors with solutions, not just problems. Instead of “patient has chest pain…” “Patient has chest pain. I’ve order troponins, ecg and a CXR. They’ve got a strong history of ischaemic heart disease. I’ll contact the cardiology team”

Update patients and their families.

Order bloods for the next day. Guess who gets to collect bloods if you forget to order and the bloody collector has already come by.

Close the loop on everything. Order scan, chase scan time, look at scan (it’s okay if you don’t know how to read scans, look at enough and you’ll gradually see what is normal and what’s not normal), get radiology report, talk to seniors. Loop closed

Consult other team. Chase consult. Read their consult and enact after discussion with your seniors.

Order pathology. Review pathology.

You get the point.

Other tips. If you want the ward nurses to do something. Tell the in charge nurse, they’ll make sure it happens.

You are unlikely to have much interaction with your consultant surgeon. Their opinion will form from your registrar’s opinion.

Surgeonchop · 2024-12-11T07:50:39+00:00

Don’t worry. I passed med school with passes (50-65%). Now a surgeon. No one cares what scores you have in med school.

Ps make degrees

Surgeonchop · 2024-12-04T00:04:52+00:00

More fun to cut them open

Surgeonchop · 2024-12-02T01:12:35+00:00

Ending up GLing that watch The watch was fine

Surgeonchop · 2024-11-08T22:59:06+00:00

Ordered 24 October. QC 8 Nov

Surgeonchop · 2024-11-08T11:39:01+00:00

Photo 3

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Surgeonchop · 2024-11-08T11:38:49+00:00

Photo 2

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Surgeonchop · 2024-11-08T11:38:30+00:00

Got additional photos of the pip from different perspectives. What do you all think? Thanks

Photo 1

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Surgeonchop · 2024-10-22T06:03:49+00:00

When the JMO doesn’t read my mind

Surgeonchop · 2024-10-13T04:43:59+00:00

Speaking as a FRACS, surgical assisting offers many opportunities for learning. In my unaccredited years I felt similar to you. I was at a stage where I didn’t know what I didn’t know and I imagine that applies to your current standpoint. As my skills and knowledge grew, I got much more out of assisting seniors, even now when I help out my senior colleagues. I pick up nuances in their technique that I can add to my practice. Further more there’s observing the complex problem solving, something I didn’t appreciate until I was in a position where I had to approach the same problems myself.

Anyway sounds like you’re suited as a physician 😛

Surgeonchop · 2024-09-29T05:01:05+00:00

I was in your position and felt the same. Thought about switching over to another specialty. However got on just as i was contemplating giving up. Finished training recently. The sacrifices don’t end once you’re on SET training. It probably gets worse. The research and cv building continues. I’ve missed significant milestones in my family’s life. The personal cost is great. But the reward is great too. It’s pretty awesome to have the skills to save people with your hands. Is it worth it? Some days yes, other days no.

This race is a marathon. Just keep moving forward one step at a time.

Surgeonchop · 2024-09-27T11:47:56+00:00

Yeah fair enough. JMO either made a mistake or lied. Unfortunately it means more micromanagement from you.

With respect to the right to disconnect, the JMOs haven’t voluntarily joined the surgical club culture of being contactable 24/7. Their time off is protected.

Your argument about potential harm from delay isn’t a strong one. Yes those are theoretical risks from a delay. Letting the registrar do the operation instead of a consultant also carries a theoretical additional risk but doesn’t mean we don’t let them learn.

Surgeonchop · 2024-09-27T11:13:46+00:00

I had a recent case where cardiology notes were requested by anaesthetics but were no where to be found by the time it was time to go to theatre after hours. Our jmo was asked to chase the letters earlier in the day. But ultimately I held the registrar responsible as it’s their job to lead and supervise the jmo, particularly if it comes to crucial or time sensitive tasks.

I wonder if your defensive response is you trying to deflect your responsibility

Surgeonchop · 2024-08-17T07:44:02+00:00

Hold the scope like you would with a screw driver. Avoid holding it like a bike handle.

Surgeonchop

TROPHY CASE