Thread by @thetimes

Mindfulness lessons, a paltry pay deal and no chairs — a new doctor reveals what it is like to join the NHS when it’s under pressure like never before thetimes.co.uk/article/confes…

✍️ It's a pandemic (you know the one) that’s left an already buckling healthcare system exhausted.

In August last year, I turned up full of big ideals and boundless enthusiasm to join a workforce that was quietly, comprehensively shattered

I didn’t always want to be a doctor. 🩺

But after a four-year graduate degree in medicine, last year I found myself standing on a bustling ward, £81,000 deep in student debt, and genuinely thrilled about it

It soon turned out that working in the NHS in the Covid era had certain challenges.

The list of these challenges is long, and possibly infinite, but here are five of the things I, a recently qualified doctor, did not think would be part of my first year in the job...

1⃣ There aren’t enough chairs

I mean that quite literally. 🪑

Between prescribing paracetamol and performing CPR, junior doctors also need to become experts in ersatz seating. Bins are often a good option

🪑 After spending months sweatily balanced on the edge of a nurse’s desk, my pal got very excited when she was moved to a ward that seemed like heaven.

Not only was there an office, it had a kettle. And a window. Best of all, there were nine chairs thetimes.co.uk/article/doctor…

2⃣ Patients’ side hustles can get in the way

One time all the patients on the diabetes ward suddenly got high blood sugar.

A patient eventually confesses. His brother has been bringing him multipacks of KitKats, which he’s selling to the other patients “at a small profit” 🍫

3⃣ This Is Going to Hurt

The BBC’s adaptation of @amateuradam's #ThisIsGoingToHurt is released at the exact halfway point of my first year as a doctor.

The major difference in the show Vs what junior doctors now have to grapple with? Pay 💰thetimes.co.uk/article/summer…

💰 Every day, I hear of another colleague who is leaving the profession.

They simply want jobs where they get a wage that reflects their skills and responsibilities and an employer that doesn’t demand you work three people’s jobs thetimes.co.uk/article/nhs-re…

4⃣ Wellbeing

The NHS is obsessed with the “wellbeing” of its staff.

Each week, we have an hour of teaching. On occasion this is about wellbeing. We have to sign a register to prove our attendance. And if you're late for any reason - tough. Sometimes we even miss lunch for it

5⃣ The feeling that the people in the system are the only people who know how bad things are

The NHS doesn’t need a medal. Or a round of applause. Or a 20% discount at Nando’s.

What we need is simple: resources to care for patients properly and a pay rise that matches inflation

Read the full story 👇
thetimes.co.uk/article/confes…