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TSR Med Students' Society Part V

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Nightmare, but I think quite a common one! You won't be alone.

I go through the introduction motions in OSCEs and almost immediately forget their name. Certainly by the time the examiner's asking questions at the end, it's long since gone.

Yeah, I'm kinda over it though. Tbh, I'm kinda over this entire year. I just really hope I pass. Normally, I want to do well; this time, I literally just want to pass!

Tuesdays experience just meant I paid so much more attention to actor's names in Thursdays OSCE, only this time the lady I had in my bimanual/speculum/chlamydia counselling station didn't know her bloody name and had to look at the instruction sheet when I asked her. I swear, some of the actors I had this year were so meh. They're usually decent.

Original post by nexttime

Why wouldn't she correct you straight away? Are your actors told to be deliberately obtuse?

I don't know. In reality, if you got someone's name wrong, they'd correct you straight away. I swear what really pissed me off about this particular actor on Tuesday was that she didn't even know her story that well and kept reading her script as we were going through the circuit.

Original post by carcinoma

So glad we had real patients for most stations, so much more normal.

I don't even know what I would do with that so late into the station.

I just apologised and carried on. I had that same examiner in my Paediatric Resus station yesterday - he remembered my name from Tuesday and was like, "Ok MedMan, come here and we'll take this one slowly". :p:

He was really, really nice!

Reply 2301

Democracy

Who voted for these ***** last time and who'll be thick enough to do it again? :confused:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-28464009

Reply 2302

carcinoma

Original post by Democracy

Who voted for these ***** last time and who'll be thick enough to do it again? :confused:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-28464009

Was literally reading just that on my Facebook feed.

It's absolute insanity but as Tim minchin once put it:

"Alternative medicine has either not been proved to work or been proved not to work.

Do you know what they call alternative medicine that's been proved to work?

Medicine"

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 2303

twmffat_twp

Original post by carcinoma

So glad we had real patients for most stations, so much more normal.

I don't even know what I would do with that so late into the station.

Posted from TSR Mobile

I once had a real patient in my finals who answered her phone mid-OSCE consultation- I was flabbergasted!!! She just went "ooo do you mind if I get this?" and answered her phone, whilst I went into mental meltdown, torn by one bit of me that wanted to say "of course I ******* mind, I'm in the middle of my ******* finals in a timed station" and the other bit repeating the mantra of the OSCE "must NOT swear, must NOT swear, must NOT swear". The examiner stepped in, but I completely lost my trail of thought and ended up perilously, embarassingly close to tears.

PS I did pass :smile:

Reply 2304

shiggydiggy

What's the deal with Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists in the US? Do they really have specially trained nurses running lists like an anaesthetist would here in the UK?

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 2305

Spencer Wells

Original post by shiggydiggy

What's the deal with Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists in the US? Do they really have specially trained nurses running lists like an anaesthetist would here in the UK?

They will be supervised by an attending, in the same way that a consultant here would supervise a trainee. There outcomes for non-emergent procedures are comparable to that of an anaesthetist, but many view them as a cheaper way to deliver surgical anaesthesia. Obviously their scope of practice is limited, and much less varied than that of an anaesthetist proper (e.g. ITU, emergency, obstetric, pain and pre-assessment work.) I doubt that they'll be appearing in the UK any time soon (a few years ago they tried, but failed.)

Reply 2306

seaholme

I know somebody who is a veterinary technician in the USA and she's left to do all the anaesthetics without supervision there. Obviously that's for little hairy 4 legged beasties and not people, and we're talking technician not nurse, but I think roles are maybe more flexible in the US? If you want to train in something and get the experience (obviously you do have to know your stuff), your background isn't such a big deal /vaguely related story

Had my OSCE today and I can't stop my brain from doing some kind of PTSD re-living of all the stations - torturing myself with all the things I forgot to ask (lots), pictures mis-identified (many) and essential tasks failed to do because I ran out of time :s-smilie:

It's going to haunt me every unguarded moment until the day I find out if I passed or failed. Post-OSCE syndrome to the max.

Reply 2307

nexttime

So my trust wants me to complete an online induction... to do it you need to run internet explorer 8 (we're currently at 11), you need a 5 year old unsupported version of java (no newer), you need shockwave (!), and, to top it all, apparently a 32 bit version of windows 7 because of my 5 friends trying to do it that is the only one to succeed so far. Apparently the 4 hour induction has background music embedded (!), and does nothing that cannot be done on HTML. It is also apparently being run by a private company, whom the NHS are presumably still paying.

Welcome to the NHS.

Reply 2308

carcinoma

Original post by nexttime

Sorry what.....

I would refuse, why are they not using e-learning for healthcare or another web-based version..

This is what gets me the most about the NHS. They are the only employer in the world who time after time accepts poorly designed, outdated, unusable systems in the name of "efficiency savings".

There is no other company who would negotiate an IT contract without bespoke software, whereas the NHS will take any piece of ****, as long as it is the cheapest of the overinflated options they have been offered by profit mongering IT companies. This all lines the pockets of these companies, provides managers with a) a job and self fulfilling prophecy b) the feeling of pride, due to so called "savings".

Meanwhile back in reality, it takes 20 minutes to log in and find some blood test results, and the people wonder why the NHS is not efficient.

Posted from TSR Mobile

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 2309

nexttime

Original post by carcinoma

You've also got the issue that if the trust computers can run this, which is my current and only plan to get it done, then that means they're running unsupported versions of key software - a major security vulnerability. Firefox doesn't even allow you to do what they want you to, which is presumably why they say you need to use IE!

Because of this i'm going to have to stay 4 hours after my first day of induction. Ugh.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 2310

clarusblue

Original post by nexttime

Make sure you chase payment for that extra time then. We are entitled to be paid for online induction, and I'm currently being treated like a major troublemaker for chasing it.

Reply 2311

nexttime

To continue my venting: looking more closely at my timetable I notice that compared to my fellow FY1 who is doing the same job, I have fewer days off, more long days and he has paeds ILS training scheduled (in place of a work day, of course) whilst I do not.

I am admittedly quibbling over only a few days here over the course of four months but still - wth!?

EDIT: also the FY2, presumably working an unbanded job, seems to only work 4 days per week as well as no out of hours stuff. Cushy.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 2312

shiggydiggy

Original post by nexttime

Apparently the 4 hour induction has background music embedded (!).

I hope it's a sweet midi file.

Spoiler

Bonus points if it plays directly from your sound card.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 2313

_lynx_

So the other week, with task of SSC selections looming, I decided to have a think about specialities that I wanted to explore. I started reading around career articles and eventually found myself enthralled in dermatology. I then started politely e-mailing relevant consultants, and even went to visit a the department a couple of times to see if they could spare some of their time to discuss dermatology as a career, and if possible, sit in on a clinic. On more than one occasion, I was advised to see Dr. X, who I was told had a special interest in medical education.

Most consultants apparently chose to ignore me, or were on annual leave, but I later discovered through a very encouraging nurse that there was a certain organiser whom I had to contact to arrange to sit in on one of the clinics. This person told me Dr X was busy this Friday, but had a free slot next Friday should I so wish. I agreed, but with the SSC deadline approaching, I decided to visit Dr X half an hour before his clinic so I could briefly ask if he had much experience in supervising students' SSCs. When I finally met him, he said he was busy, understandably, and was very dismissive. Now at this point, knowing just how difficult it was to get hold of him, or any consultant, I persisted to get a yes or no answer to my simple question. I was very aware that I was probably being an irritating medical student.

He later e-mailed me to tell me quite bluntly that he would not be able to supervise me and that he does not accommodate personal requests for observing his clinics - for that, I would have to contact the organiser. That's fine, seeing as I had, so I replied asking whether he would still be happy for me to sit in on one of his clinics since I had. Astonishingly, he declined without giving any explanation. Maybe I had peeved him off earlier that day, and I have no problem with no as an answer, but it sure felt personal.

Has anyone else had a similar experience? Do doctors have a right to say no to clinical students on personal grounds?

Reply 2314

Spencer Wells

Original post by _lynx_

Do doctors have a right to say no to clinical students on personal grounds?

On whatever grounds they like.

They do however sound a bit rude and it's a shame that you've found the department to be unhelpful. Your medical school administrators may be able to assist, or try contacting the dermatology department at another hospital affiliated with your university.

Reply 2315

Tech

So one of the practice SBAs is about antenatal diagnosis of sickle cell - the woman is 8/40 and both her and dad have sickle trait. The question asks for the single best investigation to determine the fetal status. Options include amniocentesis, CVS, and FBS. The answer is CVS - is there any other reason other than the fact that it is the earliest that can be done safely? Thanks.

Reply 2316

Blatant Troll

Original post by Tech

Not that I'm aware of. But tbh, as the question stands they couldn't have picked a worse topic to force into a SBA. There is no SBA to that question - in real life people would be counselled for both CVS and amnio [for the unaware: earlier diagnosis for the former, lower miscarriage rate for the latter].

Reply 2317

nexttime

Dear [administrator]

I have tried and tried to get the online induction working, but to no avail. As far as I can tell the extremely specific software requirements are just too old for me to handle. I'd also have to disable my internet security to allow an unsupported version of java to run, which I am not overly keen on doing.

Can I assume there will be a suitably old, suitably non-secure computer available in the trust that I can use to complete this?

Thanks
nexttime

_____________________

Welcome to the NHS.

There will be a computer you can use.

Regards
[administrator]

Dat reply. I loled. Then I cried.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 2318

username1044510