Hello All,

By the time this is uploaded, I will have completed my first shift at my very first clinical placement. I have been allocated to a Day Surgery Unit, which is where people come to have the type of surgery where they are well enough to go home the same day. I think it’s going to be really interesting as I will see a lot of different types of injuries, illnesses and conditions being treated and will also meet a lot of different types of people. I have a mentor who I can turn to for support and expect to gain excellent experience undertaking patient observations by the end of the 9 weeks, putting into practice what we have been learning in the classroom. I’ll be working long days – so 13 hour shifts (lots of chocolate required to keep going I think).

In other news, I popped into The Royal Star & Garter Home in Richmond with some cupcakes for my Gran who as you may remember lives there. My visit also coincided with the Relatives and Friend’s Afternoon Tea which was a real success. Peter Priednieks of the Chrysalis Project and Heather Robinson the Activities Manager both hosted a really interesting and eye opening session on the benefits of activities. It’s always interesting to speak with other relatives and worthwhile to discuss anything with the staff.

I have just had my last annual leave until February and thankfully the weather was nice enough to go on a little trip to Brighton. I even went swimming in the sea! It was a lovely couple of days and a really nice break before starting my placement.

In my last blog I mentioned a practical test called an ‘O.S.C.E’ (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) which I was undertaking, and I have a provisional mark of 90%. I am so pleased with this, especially as I was quite nervous and really struggled with the manual method of hearing the patient’s blood pressure. However it was good experience and next time will be less daunting now I have done it once.

Thanks for reading,

LAC Doyle