I always looked forward for the opportunity to interact with real patients during hospital and clinical placements. Students in the above years always mentioned that it was as if your textbooks come to life. For pre-clinical years, we didn’t have much clinical exposure, with the emphasis on medical theory such as pharmacology and biochemistry. After this, we usually do an intercalated degree – mine was in Cardiovascular Sciences. Then comes 3 clinical years…
In my first few months, I started at the Royal Free Hospital in London – a place renowned for treating patients with infectious diseases such as Ebola. I arrived at the hospital early morning, both excited and nervous. The day starts with the morning handover, where the night shift team reports back key pieces of information about current patients. They relay this information using a succinct tool called SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendation). I realised the importance of that all-important buzzword ‘communication’ we fill in our personal statements – without it, you would be endangering safe continuity of care for patients that you treat.
We’re assigned a small group consisting of a consultant/registrar, juniors, nurses, physiotherapists and then, armed with a few facts and phrases you gleaned on the train ride to the hospital, we visited patients. This is more daunting than it seems as you’re put on the spot to answer questions asked by your seniors!
However, it’s rewarding when you learn important clinical signs to carry out supervised medical examinations such as checking their breathing, abdomen or assessing the state of neurological functions. It truly is fascinating to see all arms of the medical world come to play, with pharmacists conversing with doctors about prescriptions and physiotherapists aiding with breathing exercises
We also get to experience being assigned a junior doctor, great at refining our examination skills and helping us develop that much-needed clinical knowledge. I still remember one of the juniors playing a game of differentials with us – much like House, where we’d be given a clinical sign and have to suggest as many possible causes under a minute.