The Countdown to General Practice

It’s a bit of a cliché! I have often heard ST2s speak about their countdown to leaving hospital medicine and setting up camp in general practice for the long haul of ST3 year. I didn’t think I would be one of those ST2s!

I have now left the world of Acute Medicine and Respiratory Medicine at Raigmore, which was both busy and hugely challenging but also a great learning experience, and have joined the less hectic life of a junior psychiatrist! I am working at New Craigs Hospital, the psychiatric hospital for the highlands. The pace is somewhat leisurely in comparison to the main hospital and this actually takes some getting used too! So far, there have been success stories, long term patients and many challenging encounters, all of which sets me up for life as an ST3 in practice.

Family life is going along well. We have recently been to the beach on the Black Isle...yes the BEACH, in the HIGHLANDS! It was a cracking day and a nice wee cheeky ice cream while the child splashed about! I have also officially joined a local road cycling club and have been putting in the miles in preparation for Ride the North...now that’s going to hurt! The areas and scenery you see while cycling with a group of people who are native to the area is wonderful. No matter what the weather, there is always something to see up here!

I have just over 2 months to go until I am back in general practice for good, and I can’t wait!

A Further Update on Highland Life!

So it’s been a while since my last blog. The weather has remained good this November with a slight cold snap in the last few days but no snow yet!

I’m coming to the end of my time in O+G. It has been a fantastic rotation. It’s been full of interesting cases, tricky patients and the occasional sad story. Everything we love about medicine. This placement has been, without doubt, one of the best hospital placements that I have had in my entire post-graduate training. I am going to be sad to leave. The support and training in this job has been superb and everyone is so approachable and friendly. I have gained a vast amount of experience in both obstetrics and gynaecology which will stand me in good stead for general practice. I would have no hesitation in recommending this rotation in any general practice programme. Next is acute medical receiving which will no doubt be challenging.

Out with working life there has been some great cycling weather. Inverness and the surrounding area is great for getting onto a bike and disappearing for a morning, either alone or with one of the local cycling clubs. This has led to some interesting experiences including a nasty concussion as you can see from my helmet! The local scenery on a bright sunny day is outstanding with beautiful hills and mountains with challenging climbs but enjoyable descents in every direction.

My daughter is always keen to get out and about the local area and loves feeding the local ducks! The area is great for her and there is always something to do with her even on the odd miserable day that we can occasionally experience. I’m sure she would take some home with her if she had the chance!

I hope you all have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Life as a GPST1 in Inverness

My name is Iain and I’m a GPST2 based in Inverness. I have finally got round to writing not only my first blog on this site, but my first ever blog! I have decided to start this blog to let all you prospective GP trainees know how varied, interesting and fun being a trainee in the Inverness area is.

I graduated in 2012 from Aberdeen having initially finished a BSc in Biomedical Sciences at the same university. My foundation years were spent treading the halls of Aberdeen Royal and maternity hospitals. I have wanted to be a GP since I was a young student aged just 24 in 4th year of medical school. I went to an inner city practice in Aberdeen expecting to be bored stiff, dealing with colds and sore throats…how wrong could I be!

We, my wife Michaela and I, along with our now 2½ year old daughter Sophie, moved to Inverness 1 year ago now for my general practice training. I am based at a large inner city practice with a list size of around 10,000 patients and a staff size of around 35 employees including partners. The variation in presentations and social backgrounds certainly keeps you on your toes!

The balance between work and family life is great while in general practice allowing us to visit the huge array of local attractions such as the Highland Wildlife Park, forest trails and local beaches (yes…there is sun in the Highlands too) to name a few. Inverness offers everything a young family should need, from large national stores for some retail therapy to huge public play parks. It also boasts one of the finest all access leisure cards for swimming pools and lessons, play groups and gym membership.

Anyway, I better get back to some e-portfolio reflection (for all you trainers reading this!) and some clinical work since I’m technically on-call in O+G just now. I will check back in soon with some more tales and some photos of our recent trip to Peppa World! Exciting!