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junior doctor's diary

Recent graduate Natalie Hogg is spending her first foundation year at the Royal Sussex County Hospital. She describes a typical day on the vascular surgery ward.

It’s very different to being a medical student. The leap has been phenomenal – good, but challenging.
There’s a lot of patient contact but it’s also an administrative role. Now we’re making decisions, we’re responsible for the patients, ordering the relevant investigations. I go home thinking about the patients I’ve seen and going over what I did. People talk to me differently now. I feel like my opinion is respected, which makes me feel useful.

I’m enjoying the responsibility of actually being a doctor. I have time to talk to patients and their families, which they like. I like being on call and seeing the acute patients, and I get on really well with the nurses, pharmacists and others in the team. I’ve learned a lot about how being a good team member is vital.

6.45am
Get up, grab a breakfast bar and a cup of tea, feed the kitten.

7.45am
Leave for work. I live in Kemptown so it’s only a ten-minute walk to work. I print off the patient list and prepare for the ward round with Mr Hurst.

8am
Ward round begins. It takes one or two hours depending on if we’ve had new acute patients.

10am-Ipm
Prioritise the jobs for the rest of the day. I might need to get scans done, undertake vascular assessments, put out the blood forms for the phlebotomists or take the samples myself if they’ve already been round.

I look at the blood results and follow them up. I had a patient yesterday with a high white blood cell
count – I did an exam and got more x-rays to work out what was wrong. Nurses may ask us to see patients, and we then present our findings to senior doctors.

1-2pm
Lunch, or a lecture once a week - this is for all the junior doctors. Our last one was on therapeutic drug monitoring.

2pm
Get back to the ward, check on the blood results and write notes. I finish any other jobs, checking
referrals and x-rays. If things are quiet, the registrar does some teaching with us – eg going over an abnormal ECG pattern. He’s really good, and also teaches us during ward rounds.

4pm
While the families are visiting, I like to walk round in case they or the patients have any questions.

5pm
Update my patient list ready for next morning.

6pm
If I’m not on call, I might head to the pub with other junior doctors for a quick drink. If we don’t go out bowling or anything I’ll be home for dinner at 7 and if I don’t fall asleep in front of the telly, it’s a miracle!