Thread by @ReturningDoctor

To post or not to post?

I have been lucky - returning to medicine has been such a positive experience overall.

But it has sometimes felt very difficult, with practical and emotional challenges.

and unpublished or anon. posts, and deleted drafts.

💭🧵

1/10

#ReturningDoctor

Is this possible?

Where do I even start?

Has anyone else done this before?

Where can I find help, resources, support, guidance?

Who can I ask?

Will they be supportive?

Or will they laugh and tell me it's an impossibly daft idea?

2/

I need a licence to practise to apply for a job

How do I reinstate my licence?

I have reinstated my licence - now I need to appraise and revalidate

But I need a job to have an appraiser and a responsible body

If I don't get a job?
Will I need to relinquish my LtP again?

3/

Job application 1
Interview truly awful
Why am I putting myself through this?

Interview 2 - better
(Got a job, yay!)

Board induction and ALS - I feel old and out of place - my new peers are >20 years younger than me

Learning how to study for a course/exam again is hard!

4/

How will I know what I don't know?

I'm 12 years older now - will I cope physically with night shifts, long days, full-time?

Getting to grips with the different NHS IT systems is a nightmare

I feel like a dinosaur 🦕 compared to my peers!

5/

The cognitive overwhelm is huge

Learning to take clinical responsibility again is huge

Hospital systems are quite different now

Is there an expectation that I will take off where I left off?

6/

I am terrified of making a mistake

7/

There are so few substantive jobs available - if I don't get a job, what have I done this for?

Am I taking a job from someone else?

If I don't get a job, will I have failed (again?)

(again) why am I putting myself through this?

8/

I don't think anybody really understands what this feels like

Not even close family

9/

But
these uncertainties...

...what they actually say to me is that...

we need support for returners
mentors are crucial
role models are crucial

We have a workforce crisis

but returning to medicine is difficult

It should be - and could be - easier

#ReturningDoctor

10/end

. @threadreaderapp please unroll