Category Archives: Advice

  There’s a big thing now about achieving success through visualisation. Sport, surgery, you name it, by visualising the task ahead, and thinking about how you might achieve it, react to obstacles and prepare in advance, you stand yourself in much better stead when the time comes. When reading through notes, picture yourself in aContinue reading “Visualise success”

This is my single favourite bit of advice I was every given: “Don’t study for exams. Study for when you’re the only thing between the patient and the grave.” There’s a real ethos at medical school of ‘what’s going to be on the exam?’ which is understandable since that’s how you’re assessed and allowed toContinue reading “Don’t study for exams…”

Whenever you put a needle in a patient, always aspirate first, before doing anything else. Literally no bad things can happen if you aspirate a little through a needle. You might get some blood, pus or CSF, but as long as you don’t start draining them dry, it’s most likely that nothing will come ofContinue reading “Aspirate the needle”

Nearly everyone has a camera on their phone nowadays, and nearly everyone uses it far too much. However it can come in incredibly helpful. Patients often facebook/instagram/snapchat their medical issue before calling for help, which – while incredibly unwise – does mean that most people, especially young people, have a picture or video of theContinue reading “Y’all got a video?”

“Would I want the doctor treating my mum to do/say what I just did?” This is one of my favourites. Partly because it’s the only one I’ve come up with myself, although the principle is by no means new, and I’ve heard a similar grandmother one floating around… It was borne from a number of occasions whenContinue reading “My mum”

An increasingly popular aspect of logbooks and e-portfolios, self-reflection is the bane of many students’ medical lives. It may seem pointless and frustrating at first, but just stopping for a second and thinking: – ‘what did I do?’ – ‘did it go well?’ – ‘what would I do differently next time?’ has a number ofContinue reading “Learn to Reflect”

He or she likely has years of experience on you as a junior doctor. Sure, you read the book and sat the exam, but they managed a real life patient with the condition before you’d so much as written a first draft personal statement. They know a huge amount, and they’re also some of theContinue reading “Learn from the Nurses”

WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN. “Cannula sited in antecubital fossa, 1L normal saline given over 4hours” “Patient swore at me and told me not to examine him” “Patient seen in corridor” Simple as that. It’s good practice, it makes it easier for those taking care of the patient later on, and it provides invaluable protection in anyContinue reading “Document or die”