I was lucky enough to
have two psychiatry jobs in my foundation years: one post in
general adult psychiatry and one in old age
psychiatry. Although I had always thought that I wanted to
work into psychiatry, these two placements confirmed my
ambitions.
During both my foundation year 1 and 2 jobs,
my key roles included:
- seeing new admissions and presenting the patients’ histories in
ward rounds
- dealing with medical issues on the wards
- liaising with families
- discussing treatment plans with members of the
multidisciplinary team (MDT)
- writing admission and discharge summaries
- spending time with patients, helping to build a therapeutic
relationship between them and the team
Unlike the medical and
surgical foundation jobs where the time and bed pressures made me
feel that I was consistently doing the bare minimum for patients, I
found that my two psychiatry placements helped to build my
confidence as a doctor. Having more time to spend with each patient
meant there was time to examine them fully and get them back into
clinics they had previously not attended and been discharged from
while they were mentally unwell. There was also time to deal with
the issues and concerns of both the patients and their
families.
I found that there was a
lot of support and respect from all members of the team. I was
encouraged to express my opinions in ward rounds, and the work that
I had carried out on the wards was recognised and praised. There
were weekly teaching sessions attended by juniors, seniors and
consultants, which always involved interesting and good humoured
debates. I was supported in conducting audits in both jobs, was
given the opportunity to work on a research project, was encouraged
to do some teaching to the MDT, and presented at some of the weekly
teaching sessions. These opportunities all gave me interesting and
relevant experiences to write about on the application form for
my core training job and subsequently discuss at
interview.
I would encourage anyone
interested in psychiatry to apply for a placement in their
foundation years. In some foundation year 2 placements,
you participate in the core trainee rota, with the associated
on-call and clinic responsibilities. Other posts, like the one I
worked in, are supernumerary. My psychiatry placements left me with
increased confidence, an interesting portfolio, some very good
friends, and a passion to do more.
Susie Tinkler, core trainee year 1 in
psychiatry
Page last updated on 22 May
by E Baker-Glenn