Dear Prevocational Colleagues and JDocs Subscribers,
Happy New Year. This is always an exciting time - moving to new jobs, possibly new hospitals or cities with new challenges and rewards. As always, your jobs will include a degree of “service” – work that needs to be done to keep the unit functioning, as well as learning opportunities. While doing so, there are 3 areas that I suggest you consider in your work:
1) Work-life balance/mental health/ extracurricular. This sounds cliched, but this is vitally important for doctors of all ages. We all know this, but tend to put it last, which is why I have put it first. Do not underestimate the importance of this – you cannot look after your patients well, if you don’t look after yourself. It may be exercise, travel, social, hobbies, whatever it is, make time to be uncontactable and off-line doing something you enjoy.
2) Look after your patients. Yes, even more obvious advice! When you’re at work, engage with your patients and discussions about them, read up on their conditions, take time with them, be kind, raise concerns when something’s not right. Being engaged will make the work more interesting, learning more effective and to put it bluntly – you will do your job better and get better references.
3) After hours work is required if you are aiming for a surgical career, but be strategic, so you don’t waste extracurricular time. If you are not yet sure which specialty is for you, focus on things that are common to all, eg a research paper or the GSSE. If you have chosen a specialty – know that specialty’s specific requirements for SET selection and target them. Don’t spend a long time on a task trying to boost your CV, only to discover that specific speciality doesn’t award you points for that.
Finding time for all that is the difficult thing. I suggest that you can’t maintain 2 and 3 unless you have 1 under control. Remember it is not a race to the finish. Once you become a consultant, you will probably stay in the same job for the rest of your life, so enjoy times like this when you are starting on a new unit, working with new people.
I wish you all an enjoyable and fulfilling New Year.
Best wishes,
