Thread by @AskJeevesWij

Today I finally completed GP training on the @HackneyVts. I've found myself reflecting on 6 years of working at @NHSHomerton hospital, @StJHospiceUK, @hackneycouncil, local practices across the borough & all the other opportunities I've been fortunate enough to have. Thread 1/10

Hackney is a diverse & challenging place to work, with both deprivation & gentrification. It is populated by brilliant HCPs who commission & deliver services specific to its needs. With so many great people & opportunities it is the perfect place to train. @HackneyVts 2/10

Along the way, I chaired @BMA_JuniorDocs for 3 yrs. We negotiated a new junior doctor contract, another £120million in pay, achieved shared parental leave, improved access to study budgets & LTFT training, supported innumerable individual trainees 3/10

... & finally ended the junior doctor contract dispute with an 82% yes vote at a referendum of members. I’ll never stop being grateful for the skills, training and experience I gained doing this, or the amazing people I met doing it. 4/10

I've been a trustee & board member with @TheBMA Giving, @MAFfilmsforlife & @theHWF, creating resources for vulnerable members of our workforce & society during this pandemic. Seeing the impact of that work has reiterated how much we can do in our communities & teams. 5/10

Along the way my academic mentor @ChairASME somehow dragged me kicking and screaming through my MSc in Med Ed. It’s been great to maintain links with the @bartsthelondon community, teach its students & support them through the work of @BartsTheLonAlum. 6/10

Completing GP training & achieving #MRCGP was no easy thing. I’ve found it every bit as difficult as it has been enjoyable. It’s tested me & taught me how hard GP can be. I wouldn’t have made it through the exams without help from people like @aman_arora & my TPDs 7/10

Most importantly, I have been lucky to have had a trainer like @steph_coughlin. She balances being a GP partner, a mum & working with the @RCGP. She is just a tremendous clinician, mentor and human being & has challenged & encouraged me through the good & tough times 8/10

... I’ve thanked her elsewhere, but it’s reinforced for me that if you find an inspiring mentor and leader, that understands you and your journey, hang onto them, because they are worth their weight in gold. 9/10

Coming out of the other end of training now as a GP, a little bit older (and admittedly a little bit greyer…) I am looking forward to the next set of challenges, even though I don’t quite know what or where they will be yet! (I’m open to ideas; do get in touch…) 10/10