My first hospital placement
My first day of Respiratory placement. As we walked off the bus and entered the hospital building, this place did not feel foreign in any way. I had confidence as I walked down the corridors with my lanyard swinging, proudly advertising “Year 1 Medical Student.” I felt like I belonged here, but quickly as the intense stares began to increase and panic set in among the rest of the group, I realised, we were in the completely wrong building. Not the best start.
Nevertheless, after a quick detour we were in the right place, signed in and sitting with the clinical teaching fellows in a classroom. Yes, this felt a bit more realistic. A quick induction was followed by a very cold walk towards the Geriatric ward, a place I had very little interest in… Despite the initial appearance, it was clear to see that everything was done with purpose, from the patients being given their own rooms for dignity, to the photographs on the wall to support patients with dementia and issues with memory finding their way around the ward.
It is easy to think of hospitals as being made up of just doctors, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. As we met nurses, ward clerks, receptionists, physiotherapists, healthcare assistants and pharmacists, the doctor’s role in patient care began to get smaller and smaller. “Multidisciplinary team,” was no longer just a buzz word to get an offer into medical school (But make sure you use it in your personal statement and interviews).
It was then time to take my very first patient history in hospital, (I won’t mention any details for patient confidentiality). We were given a set method to how we should do this at Medical School, and well, as soon as I started that went right out the window. Key points I took away from it were: don’t just assume you know who you are speaking to; severity on a scale from 1-10 can vary greatly; a C-section (A method of delivering a baby through a cut in the tummy) is an extreme abdominal surgery that people like to brush off. Finally, in medicine you should probably get comfortable discussing toilet habits.
