Hi there, my name’s Hector and I am aYear 5 student currently on placement on OBGYN at Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary. This is the busiest block of the year so normally my days have more self-directed learning time but I have a lot more scheduled here than typical placements – plus I am running Lisbon Marathon this year so I have lots of training for that.
Surgery day: early start
Using one of my surgery days last week as an example, I get up at 6am so I can manage an hour long run along the river and be back in time for breakfast and coffee at 7.30. Peripheral placements give you some great running routes, so I highly recommend applying for them if you are a runner.
Handover with the night team and theatre: 8.30am
After brekkie and a shower, I will get changed and head into the hospital for handover from nights. Dumfries has housing for students and doctors onsite, so the commute is less than two minutes and the rooms are ensuite.
At the handover, the team discuss what happened last night as well as the plan for today. As OBGYN is a surgical specialty, it means you get lots of time in surgery so I will typically spend a morning or two a week getting scrubbed in which is so exciting and such a privilege, especially when the parents let you hold the baby after a C-section.
Theatre lasts until lunch where I then meet up with the other medical students in the canteen and have a catch up as well as get a coffee from a consultant.
Afternoon: shadowing
After lunch I head either up to the ward or down to clinic to shadow one of the team. Sitting in on ante-natal clinics is my favourite as you often get to see the moment a family sees their baby on an ultrasound. Moments like those are where you feel privileged to be present at a key part of someone’s life as their doctor. In these clinics you will often get quizzed by whoever you are shadowing, so it is good to come prepared!
The teaching in these sessions is excellent too. Observing patients with conditions or signs that you need to learn about helps you associate that person with what you are learning, and it sticks in your mind more than just seeing it in a textbook.
On-call registrar: 4pm
Typically, clinics will end at 4 o’clock and twice a week I will be with the on-call registrar until 8:30 following up calls around the hospital. Alternatively, I will get to head back early to have some relaxed time with the other students in my flat and cook some dinner. From 6-8pm, I will normally do some quiet study on Passmed. Sometimes I will have a call with one of the medical school applicants I tutor @In2MedSchool to hear how they are doing and to ask how I can help.
After this it’s a call home, an episode on Netflix, and lights out: getting ready to do it all again tomorrow.
