FEATURES
NORTHWING 2009/2010
The ramblings of a final year...
It’s out of stock...
It’s the fifth year. Another placement finished, another proforma signed off. The usual rushed signature of a harassed consultant who doesn’t even know my name. I hand said form into medical school. Job done. But is it really?
The University of Sheffield is meant to be home to one of the best libraries in the U.K.—the information commons (IC). I still remember when the IC opened. It was shiny and colourful and had comfy sofas and a shower for some strange reason. Now even when it opened, it was a place for people to meet and socialise but it was also a place to work. If you walked in at 11 am on a Thursday you could find a place to sit AND a computer. Shocking, I know. Nowadays the IC is a nightmare. It’s full of 1st and 2nd years constantly pretending to work. Actually I take that back. They do some work—they sit and plan their social lives (that’s the bitterness speakingplacements have destroyed that for me). Oh yes shall we go to Space on Friday night and then Pop Tarts and Population (whatever that is).
Ignorance is bliss As students, all we really ever want, apart from long weekends and alcohol, is feedback. While on placement, yeah we like having teaching, patient contact is good too, but we want to know how we are doing. Like, actually. Not just a proforma signed off on the last day - usually the first time we are meeting our consultant, or a mini-CEX signed off by a poor harassed F1 who truly has NO time whatsoever to sit down and go through it. We need to know about our performance. For better or worse feedback will help us become better doctors, not just sitting on reflecting on the days events or on how you personally feel a history went. It helps enormously when someone, who knows what they are doing, actually sits and watches you do something and actually gives you some constructive criticism because when you do get their feedback, wait for it now, you can actually reflect on your performance. There it is medical school, the key to getting students to reflect.
Despite all the hours spent in there, these students seem to accomplish very minimal. I am not saying that I am a constant hard worker throughout the year (quite to the contrary - my revision is always last minute and based on panic and fear) but when I finally do get that urge to start work, I would like a place to do that. I can see those of you out there saying to me, well there are other places to work BESIDES the IC. Well then I would say to you, where?
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