Four months in

Dr Peter Logan, an FY1 doctor working in the Midlands, reflects on the start of his journey as a foundation doctor.

Four months in, and I’m one third of the way through my first year of work. As FY1 doctors prepare to rotate through to their next job, it’s a good time for us all to reflect on our first experiences.

A shock to the system

I’m confident that there are very few juniors who would claim to have not had a busy few months, having been thrust from the protected medical school environment into a situation which required real responsibility and accountability. The grace period was short and the learning curve steep. The “I’m just a medical student” excuse, one that I relied on so heavily, had to come to an abrupt end. No longer was I able to pawn off the difficult cannulation or avoid the difficult patient.

The change was sudden and, admittedly, it came as a shock to the system. That said, very quickly you find yourself applying your teaching from medical school. Thinking back to the skills sessions, the examination demonstrations, and particularly the communications workshops, it’s easy to see now how well the teaching was planned, and where it fits in with regards to doing the job. The initial angst, together with thoughts of not being prepared, faded quickly.

A varied four months

I’ve never before seen much truth in the myth that years pass quicker as you start to grow up, but perhaps now I do, as the four months have flown. I was really lucky to have a varied four months, which included a day job in anaesthetics with on-calls in acute medicine.

Anaesthetics and critical care is rather specialised, and as such, much of what I did there was supervised or with senior help close by. I think it’s a fantastic job to do as a foundation doctor, whether you’re interested in a career there or not. I had a lot of good teaching, which was useful given the amount of physiology and pharmacology I had evidently forgotten. It also afforded the chance to work on practical skills with some really interesting procedures, and to help develop my ability to manage an acutely ill patient. These skills can then be applied to any specialty when moving on.

In contrast, my on-call shifts had relatively less supervision, and therefore brought new challenges. Where anaesthetics had tested my practical skills and technical knowledge, this was where I was able to better use medical knowledge of common conditions. Sometimes it’s very difficult to manage the workload, and to prioritise tasks, but I think this has improved with practice. I hope I continue to improve, not least because my next job will be in the very busy acute medical unit itself.

Moving forward

We’re drawing closer to what seems like the inevitable transition to the new junior doctor contract. Despite the degree of uncertainty with respect to that, I fully expect the job to continue to challenge and stimulate me.

Find out more

• For continued advice during the foundation programme, read Medical Protection’s handbook ‘Supporting you through your foundation years’.