Category: Educational

I had been asked to pass the nasogastric tube, a task I hadn’t previously undertaken. It was a procedure that the nurses normally performed. However, I didn’t anticipate any difficulties. At any one time on the surgical ward, there were at least half a dozen patients being treated with these tubes and I wasn’t aware that […]

The time has come for me to introduce you to Sir William who will feature in several of the tales that I have lined up for you. He is the doctor I have most admired, the best boss I had when I was training and a wonderful colleague when I became a consultant. He was […]

The clinical assessment, essentially a practical examination, was the critical part of the final examination which would decide whether I was fit to put the letters MB ChB after my name and commence my life as a doctor. It began with a requirement to analyse a specimen of urine. With three other equally apprehensive candidates, […]

I was facing the hurdle which would decide whether the five long years I’d spent as a medical student were finally coming to an end. I was tackling the MB ChB examination – Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery. Succeed and I became a doctor – fail and I faced a further 6 months of […]

It is very much my hope that this blog will develop into an ‘open forum’ to which everyone can contribute so if you have a memorable story, anecdote or notable reminiscence, whether as a carer or perhaps as a patient, please get in touch. First contact should simply be with the gist of the story, […]