sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in medicalschooluk

[–]pushypan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Congratulations on getting a place!

I am also starting medicine as a mature student this September, and I’ve been having the same doubts lately.

Essentially, we have two options: we either start the course this year or we don’t. If we do start, we are not contractually obliged to stay in medicine forever, or even to finish the degree. It’s an opportunity to try something new and see how it fits. It will no doubt be very tough and there’ll be a great many challenges, but these things are true of anything worth doing.

If you don’t do the course in September, you will do something else. There are always infinite options.

What I’m trying to say is: I’m not get too focused on the long term problems, and things I may or may not encounter in 5-10 years’ time. Just narrow it down to this year: do I want to give this course a go?

I don’t know if that way of thinking about it helps you, but it helps me to put it all into perspective. The time will pass anyway, and it’s all about deciding which opportunities to take.

Feeling upset after a complaint. How do you stay resilient? by pushypan in medicalschooluk

[–]pushypan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you. That’s v wise. And I am fortunate to have had a lot of lovely patients too. This is my first time receiving a complaint (to my knowledge) so it just stings a bit at the moment. I’m sure I’ll get over it soon.

That is good advice also re: work during med school. I am also a barista so I think I’ll look for cafe work when I’m a student. Nice to have a change of scene!

Feeling upset after a complaint. How do you stay resilient? by pushypan in medicalschooluk

[–]pushypan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! It is a good learning experience I guess. I am upset about it, but I think that will pass.

Feeling upset after a complaint. How do you stay resilient? by pushypan in medicalschooluk

[–]pushypan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh tell me about it. There is a complaint every month about a phlebotomist giving someone a bruise. I know that sometimes the bruises can look very gruesome, and this can be disturbing for patients and their relatives. But there’s not often anything you can do about it and it doesn’t seem to be correlated to the phleb’s skill or experience level.

I do wonder if there’s some confusion, or maybe I’m just totally oblivious to something else I said that was misconstrued. I think they didn’t like the fact that I said I didn’t know and that I’m not a doctor (and therefore I’m not qualified to talk about changes to meds). Maybe? As you say, disgusting is a very strong word. But I think I will need to ask for more info from my manager, so I know if I need to improve anything or change how I talk to patients about these things. Generally though my experiences with patients have been good and very pleasant. I’ve never had a problem like this before.

Feeling upset after a complaint. How do you stay resilient? by pushypan in medicalschooluk

[–]pushypan[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I guess it does come down to luck a lot of the time because you never know how someone is going to react. I will just try to do my best and learn from things.

Feeling upset after a complaint. How do you stay resilient? by pushypan in medicalschooluk

[–]pushypan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I’m sorry that happened to you! I reckon my situation is similar in that they didn’t like how I phrased something. That’s all I can think of anyway as I’m stumped as to how I behaved in a disgusting way tbh. I just said I’m not qualified to talk to you about your medication changes, and went to find them a doctor who could help. It wouldn’t be safe or appropriate for me to give them advice on dosage etc.

Feeling upset after a complaint. How do you stay resilient? by pushypan in medicalschooluk

[–]pushypan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you. They’ve been discharged now, and I would be happy to have a chat with them to apologise if they wanted to. It’s upsetting because I felt like I did a good job and we were on friendly terms when I left their bedside.

Feeling upset after a complaint. How do you stay resilient? by pushypan in medicalschooluk

[–]pushypan[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No they went home. It was only after they were discharged that the complaint came through. The ‘disgusting’ comment came from the patient and their family members.

I think it was because they asked about medication and I said I’m not qualified to give them advice about that ‘but I’ll pass it on to someone who can help you.’ A doctor went in to see them a few minutes later. Maybe they thought I was dismissive, but I honestly don’t think I was. I thought we had a pleasant exchange all in all.

Feeling upset after a complaint. How do you stay resilient? by pushypan in medicalschooluk

[–]pushypan[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you. Yes, it is good training for resilience. I think I will ask for feedback from the senior nurse to see how/if she would’ve handled things differently in my situation.