The beginning of third year…

As I write this I am coming to the end of week 6 of my first rotation of my third year at medical school. Year 3 is split into several rotations including; Managing Long Term Conditions (MLTC), Women & Children, Psychiatry, Neurology & Elderly, Sexual Health & Therapeutics and finally a third Special Study Module.

For the last 6 weeks I have been on the MLTC block. I have been on placement in General Practice 5 times and I have REALLY enjoyed it! As well as observing many consultations at the surgery, I’ve also accompanied the GP on home visits where I assisted taking patients’ histories and observations such as blood pressure and temperature.

Back at the surgery I had to also complete 8 ‘hot seat cases’. For these I sat on the GP’s chair and took the histories from the patient as though they had come to see me. I then had to examine the patient if necessary and suggest a management plan before getting feedback from the GP and discussing my ideas for the differential diagnosis. The first couple of these cases were really nerve racking and it felt a bit strange that real patients trusted me to listen to their story and examine them as though I was a real doctor. The GP was really helpful and so I become more confident so that by my 8th case I felt quite comfortable! In addition to my GP placement I’ve also been to some Ear, nose and throat clinics – I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected as they were really hands-on as the consultant had us practice using the equipment to examine the patients. Overall the MLTC rotation has enabled me to see such a variety of patients and conditions, which is why I think I have enjoyed it so much.

I am really looking forward to my next rotation – Women and Children, because it is something completely new to me as we did not go onto the maternity wards last year, nor did we spend much time in paediatrics. It’s also been months since I’ve been on the wards, with having GP placement first, so it will be good to go back!