Raja Adnan Ahmed
@drraja_
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Consultant Psychiatrist - 🇵🇰 🇬🇧 MSc Medical Education - Bristol UK. Interested in raising awareness of mental illness, fighting stigma & medical education.
United Kingdom
Joined May 2013
My 3 year old was quite surprised when I told her I am also a doctor. She thought only her mother was a doctor. Before she felt I was driving back & forth to hospital just to check on her mother.
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I am gathering patient feedback these days. A lady in her 80s made my day.
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Do you know the years of training required to become a fully qualified GP . 5+2+3 = 10 years of study & training. That's only if you don't take any breaks and don't fail any exams. Now, design a scheme to replace that 10-year experience with 2 years of training. Not safe.
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You may have seen healthcare staff in the UK wearing this yellow badge with their name on it. But do you know the story behind this?. Dr Kate Granger MB was an NHS doctor who was diagnosed with cancer in 2011. During a hospital stay in August 2013 with post-operative sepsis,
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As a medical student, I asked a 73-year-old lady . "When was your last period?". She actually said to me, . "Don't be so check-listed with your questions young man".
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Our resident doctor of Egyptian origin returned from annual leave today. So here is Baklava from Cairo.
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We had 3 doctors doing OPD today. One had a family emergency & couldn't attend. Two of us adjusted their patients into our already full clinics. Didn't cancel, didn't ask for extra money. Just did it for the sake of patients. No one will notice & thank us. End of story.
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When I was preparing for PLAB in Pakistan, there was a doctor who would see me studying in the library with PLAB books and he would give me a lecture about how ungrateful I am to the country and thinking about leaving. A few years after I came to the UK, I met the same doctor.
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Every doctor I meet these days (Junior or Senior) is thinking about an exit stregety from the NHS. Meanwhile, NHS is working on wellbeing initiatives.
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@FauzanHashmi This is totally unacceptable. I would expect the other people sitting on the train to at least call the police if they don't want to be involved. I hope @BTP will take this criminal behaviour seriously & take immediate action. Otherwise, someone else will be at risk of assault.
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Using the BNF to check drug dosage is not a sign of weakness or lack of clinical ability. I am a Consultant and I often open BNF during my ward rounds, clinics and even in front of patients. Prescribing blindly pretending to know everything is dangerous. #TipsForNewDocs.
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Post CCT Orthopaedic - Consultant level surgeon . Salary of £37,000 - £57,000. You don't need the best brains in the country to tell you why doctors are moving out of UK after training.
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It's a great privilege to become a Royal College Examiner. Like most IMGs, I started my UK journey to the UK with IELTS & PLAB. Many years of uncertainty & testing myself against the standards set by the NHS & UK Post graduate training. There were many occasions where I felt
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When I was growing up, becoming a doctor was considered an amazing lifetime achievement. But now within doctor's community, finding an alternative career & leaving medicine is considered a big achievement. How did we get here?.
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One doctor posted on the IMG group. "Let's make a WhatsApp group for those junior doctors looking to move to Australia." . 120 replied in 4 hours. Our health leaders are unable to read the pulse of the workforce.
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This is a slightly embarrassing story. An IMG doctor was waiting to join a trust & we added them into junior doctor WhatsApp group so they get to know people early. Reading issues discussed on the WhatsApp group, the IMG doctor pulled out of the job, saying it's not worth it.
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Until 5 years ago, when I was speaking to FY2s, . They will tell me in excitement which speciality they will be working in soon. Now mostly, their response is, ."I am taking a break, will do locums for a while" . Not sure if health leaders are understanding impact of this.
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This is our hospital's OPD waiting area. Designed to look like a living room. Aim to reduce anxiety patients with cognitive impairment may feel attending clinics.
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MBBS.
What was once highly respected, but is now a complete joke?.
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I see the CVs of young generation doctors & think. Gosh, I was lucky I wasn't competing with this person as a junior. People have so much on their CVs these days. Amazing students.
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My respect for GPs quadrupled when I worked as FY2 on GP Placement. This is what I witnessed. - GPs had excellent knowledge base which was wider than any specialist and they were keeping that up to date with ever changing guidelines and protocols. - GPs had a constant flow of.
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Gulab Jamans & IMG doctors. I went to Pakistan earlier this year & bought this tin of Gulab Jamans. Look at how they describe Gulab Jamans on the Tin. "Soft balls in Suger Syrup" = Gulab Jaman . This description of the Gulab Jaman reminds me of the way some of our IMG doctors
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I am feeling extremely sad about the death of Dr. Kumar. People who worked with her are telling me how wonderful she was & how she used to help them. The system failed her. No doubt. Here are my reflections .
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Doctors advice people to maintain. Healthy balanced diet.Maintain a routine .Sleep properly . But their own training involves, waking up all night, weird shift patterns, missing meals, unhealthy food options at hospital or vending machine food.
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Australia has just made it easier for UK CCT doctors to work in Australia using a fast-track pathway. This applies to, in particular, GPs . Anaesthetics, O&G, and Psychiatry will be added to this list.
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Brilliant' QE Birmingham doctor killed himself after mental health problems 'caused by work', wife says. Suicide note says.“The things that make me happy no longer outweigh the things that make me sad. I love you more than you will ever know.”.
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Speaking with junior doctors in training. I noticed this trend. People are going LTFT & doing locums on days off. This way, they are matching or earning more & still managing more days off. This generation wants flexibility & control. They know how to get it.
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I feel the GPs don't get due respect by the general public or even hospital doctors. None of the hospital doctors have that kind of wide knowledge to diagnose & manage multiple health conditions long term in a setting with limited time & resources.
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Many young doctors I meet are actively looking for a side hustle to create financial independence so they can move away from practising medicine. This represents that they are not happy or satisfied with the profession. We can create more medical school places & more training.
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This is what Guys & St Thomas is charging from international doctors for clinical attachment. £2500 admin fee & £800 per week. These are international doctors with GMC registration.
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So many doctors say they would never advise their own children to become doctors. This feeling of discontent will hinder the next generation from getting inspired to choose medicine. Bring back the passion.
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To the IMG Medical Students & Junior Doctors. After your medical school, your classmates will take different routes. Some will be more successful & quicker in getting jobs abroad & others will take a bit of time. Those you thought were brilliant at study may start to struggle.
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Today marks my 7th year of CCT & as a consultant psychiatrist. I would like to announce. I got no prestigious awards or new appointments. No high impact peer reviewed research or funding. Just saw a lot of patients, trained a few doctors & taught on a few forums.
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In 2023, junior doctors are still reporting incidents of senior doctors making them cry while they are trying to make a referral. It can leave them with anxiety and fear for the next time. Giving others traumatic memories is no way of training.
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@Megsenmumdr That's my retirement plan. To open a Pakora & Samosa stall in front of a big university hospital in the UK.
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I believe all hospital speciality training should include 3-6 months of GP placement. Trainees need to see how primary care work & how issues related to their speciality are dealt with at that level. Maybe they will also develop some sympathy toward GPs.
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The Medical Council of New Zealand has made it easier for PLAB-passed IMGs to get registration. This has opened another route for the IMGs to leave the UK if they feel they are not getting fair treatment.
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Please, for the sake of NHS, do not treat your international workforce so badly. Imagine starting a new job in a foreign country & on the first day of the job you are told that the job you applied for isn't there anymore & you need to do another job or leave. Supporting IMG
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Here are realistic options to improve NHS. Train more staff = will take years. Treat already trained & employed staff better = doesn't take time. Treat the international workforce better so they feel a sense of belonging & stay in UK long term = Doesn't take that much effort.
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When mental health clinic appointments are missed by patients, we shouldn't simply off-list them. As there is a possibility that the patient is too unwell to attend the appointment. People undergoing a mental health crisis may not have enough energy, motivation, or.
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The solution to the NHS problems is not in finding cheaper replacements of doctors. But to retain doctors & improve working conditions for doctors.
RCGP governing UK Council has today voted to oppose a role for Physician Associates working in general practice. You can read more here.
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Everyone wants junior doctors who require minimal supervision and can get the job done safely and timely. The ideal junior doctor is considered to be the one who rarely bother the seniors and get things done. But there are Consultants who will take on juniors struggling and.
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Do you know the years of training required to become a psychiatrist in the UK? . 5+2+3+3 = 13 years . That's only if you don't take any career breaks or do additional training. If you don't create suitable working conditions for a consultant-level psychiatrist in the UK, they.
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On a care home visit, a staff member came to me & said. "Sorry, doctor, your car is blocking mine. Can you move it, please?". She then showed me a brand-new Range Rover. It's funny because she automatically assumed it was mine. My 10-year-old car was parked on a side street.
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Last shift as a junior doctor. Tomorrow, my CCT will be reinstated.
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Imagine as a British Doctor, you move abroad to a country with a completely different health system. You are given a bleep on the first day without induction & asked to start to work straight away. Sounds unreasonable?.Then why do you let this happen around you to the IMGs?.
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Parking charges for patients & staff working in an NHS hospital.
What's a scam that's so normalized that we don't even realize it's a scam anymore?.
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Asking for more salary has been demonised in the health sector. No one tells a solicitor that your main purpose in life is to ensure the rule of law & justice, not an hourly rate. No one ever told a plumber. Your purpose in life is to keep people warm and not expect money.
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USMLE vs PLAB . This is one of the most common dilemmas IMG doctors face. (Disclaimer: I work in the UK, and I haven’t done USMLE. My experience and views of the US are only shaped by interacting with US-qualified IMG doctors). USMLE is a harder and more expensive exam in
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Sometimes I reflect, I came to UK as a young MBBS from a small town in Pakistan. Scared and uncertain. Now I am a Consultant with CCT, Royal College examiner & deliver lectures in a British University. Such an exciting journey.
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Labour pledges to train more GPs . Good news for the health services of the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand & Canada.
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Some of England’s trainee doctors are paid less than fast-food workers. CNN has done much better reporting in comparison with BBC.
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I interact with a lot of IMG doctors. The new generation considers the UK a short-term destination in their career progression. This should really be ringing alarm bells for NHS workforce managers as IMGs are the backbone. If you can't keep them, the crisis will continue.
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Imagine a patient telling you. Harry Barnes .73 Orchard Close, .Kingsbridge, Devon . Even before you started ACE-3, to impress you with their memory. Yeap. That happened.
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British Medical Graduates FY1 doctors get shadowing period before they start their jobs. Really important for safety. IMG doctors are often placed in the deep end from the very first day they join the NHS. Shadowing often denied. Normalise shadowing period for the IMGs.
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Here is an IMG doctor story. Started in the UK in 2021 and was struggling a lot due to a lack of supervision & disorganized job plan. I supported remotely as much as possible. Texted them last week asking how are they?. Got a picture from Australia, saying all good, Dr. Raja.
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One tip for Consultants & NHS trusts. Treat your non training junior doctors as trainees. Don't make them feel they are just servive provision & kind of second class when it comes to learning & development.
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40% of GP appointments are for Mental Health related issues. GP see more Psychiatry patients than Psychiatrist. Psychiatry placements should be part of all GP training schemes.
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We know doctors are leaving the UK. But where are they migrating to?. GMC: The state of medical education and practice in the UK: The workforce report 2022. IMGs are more likely to leave within six years of joining.
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The UK Junior Doc strike has given a very negative message to the IMG doctors. Every day juniors are asking me if it's worth considering the UK as a career path given juniors are so unhappy. NHS relies heavily on international talent which the UK probably takes for granted.
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GP convicted of revenge porn offences has been allowed to keep his job after a tribunal decided the regret he showed over the incident was “genuine”. Remember, GMC has suspended a GP who asked for a laptop.
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I am trying to think who was the last FY2 I saw going into speciality training. The new ones are all either doing FY3 trust grade jobs, locums, or moving to Australia. Is this a generational thing, or UK has made training so uncomfortable that juniors are staying away?.
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Our IMG group is filled with junior doctors asking how to save money on heating bills. Quite a few are avoiding central heating & staying in one room with a portable heater. If your doctors can't pay heating bills, imagine the general public.
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Doctors raised concerns about a nurse in the department. Doctors were asked to apologise & attend mediation. Nurse was transferred to the risk and patient safety office. This is very shocking. How can you run a hospital like this?.
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I remember on a home visit while I was talking to a patient a cat was sitting across & watching me carefully. At the end of consultation when I was leaving the patient said, doctor don't forget your cat. I said I thought it was your cat. She said, I have never seen her before.
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We should thank the amazing Mental Health Nursing staff. Many don't realise the challenges of managing Covid-19 patients on the Mental Health wards. Extra layers of challenges. It wasn't possible without the amazing nursing staff who worked hard & so selflessly.
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International doctors looking for jobs in the UK. The better way to find a job in the UK 🇬🇧 is still passing the PLAB or Membership exams. These two pathways will get you GMC registration & freedom to choose where you like to work. ➡️Membership exams are harder, but a higher.
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UK Training Competition Ratios .Round 1 Aug 2023 - CT1/ST1 level . I have arranged the competition from most to least competitive speciality. Psychiatry is ranked 8th most popular among 15 . The least competitive is Paediatrics followed by IMT and GP.
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NHS mandatory training should include. - How to accept referrals without insulting your colleagues. - How not to bad mouth other specialities especially GPs.
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Over the last few years, I have met two different types of IMG junior doctors & medical students. First type: . They will seek some guidance about coming to the UK. They will ask specific questions, clarify confusion & get some motivation. There will be silence afterwards.
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My timeline is flooded with . US IMG doctors celebrating matches. UK junior doctors striking.
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Medical team struggling with a Capacity Assessment. Liaison Psychiatrist walks in.
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Chocolate Samosa . Please don't do this with Samosa. This is not fair.
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As doctors, we go through ups & downs in our lives. When we are down, our minds will give us negative messages like . "I am not good enough,"."I am a failure,"."I can't work hard enough," ."I can never get things done on time," . Don't forget, if you have done MBBS, it means.
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In other news, which my British colleagues may not be aware of. UK government has increased visa fees for ILR & British Nationality applications. A doctor with family or 4 will be paying £11,500 to get ILR visa. Don't blame them if they won't take substantive post & start
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Increasing number of PAs roles are getting introduced in the NHS. This will most certainly change the workforce structure. Junior doctors are worried this would mean fewer posts and oppurtinures for them. This is a genuine concern.
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As a young IMG doctor in the UK, we are in survival mode. Fear of failure .Imposter syndrome .Fear of GMC .Feeling that we are not good enough. All mixed up. We can end up letting good oppurtinures go because we feel we are not ready. If I can go back in time & meet my.
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Dear senior doctors. If a junior doctor is asking too many questions, please use that oppurtunity to teach them & encourage them to ask more. Don't discourage them as this may leave a career long scar in their ability to ask for help. Thank you.
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How do you deal with this situation as a junior doctor? . This is about prioritizing jobs. If you are on call & dealing with other emergencies. You can not be in two places at the same time. Discharge summaries need to be completed with good standards & can not be rushed. They
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Before MBBS: .I don't know, I am not a doctor yet. Afrer MBBS: .This is outside the scope of my current practice.
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Dr Bapuji Rao is a consultant psychiatrist in Wales, and this year, he completed 50 years of NHS service. He came to the UK in 1973 from India. A lot of senior psychiatrists in Wales worked as junior doctors under him & he is an excellent supervisor. #BIPA2023
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Doctor trying to be funny and kind, sent chocolates to pathology lab in the sample bag. Pathology lab returned them saying they can't find a patient called Santa on their system.
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IMG doctors struggle to express their achievements & sell themselves both on application forms & in the interviews due to not having a command of the English language. Here is a list of action verbs that can be used in personal statements & also during interviews while.
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Most Competitive Specialities in the UK - CT1 /ST1 level 2024 . I have arranged the specialities from highest to lower level competition ratios. Important to note, the IMT recruitment ratios are not published yet and not part of the list. Least competitive specialities are
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My first daughter was born when I was CT1 in Psychiatry working in Essex. When someone asks me about my years of experience in Psychiatry, she is my reference point. She will be 15 soon.
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Junior doctors from outside UK ask me, . Is moving to the UK worth it? . Thread 🧵.
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My little one is 5 today . Seems like yesterday when I first held her in my arms.
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Medical students in Pakistan sit together & dream about coming to Western countries. Pakistani doctors in Western countries get together & talk about the days they spent as medical students. It's like a circle. We are chasing a dream and then realizing we should have enjoyed.
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New IMG doctors starting in the UK often report a very bad experience with HR. - Emails not answered for weeks. - Errors on job offers & visa documents. - Unnecessary delays in start dates. These things can be improved & a developed country should do a better job.
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Most difficult experiences of being a psychiatrist is the death of a patient under your care by suicide. You try your best that it would never happen but when it does, it can have devastating consequences on your own mental health.
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Every day, I am reading posts from junior doctors comparing their income with taxi drivers, electricians & plumbers. We recruit the best brains into medicine and leave them with this level of discontent. Not good for the profession & the future of health service.
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I have seen a few post on social media questioning the role of Psychiatrist in this crisis. People still need mental health services as before but now we are inventing new ways to see patients. Some of my colleagues are dealing with Covid-19 inpatients.
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International doctors, please note. There is no situation where hospitals can make you work for free in the NHS. Clinical attachments & observerships are hands-off experiences just for shadowing. In the name of experience & exposure, do not end up in a situation where you are.
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A lovely Psychiatrist from Cardiff passed away following a violent attack in a local park. Extremely sad news.
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Be the senior you wished you had as a junior doctor for your now junior doctors.
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Important reminder for IMG doctors . Mince Pie widely available around Christmas time are vegetarian & no meat Mince in it. I didn't eat them for the first two years in the UK just because of the name Mince.
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