Yesterday,
I finished my ten week stint as a specialty doctor on an old age organic psychiatry ward. After initial worries that I might be too rusty to be of any use, I soon settled into the job. I’ve decided that working at a less senior level actually suits me much better: I can make use of my clinical skills and spend plenty of time with the patients, without going home feeling stressed. Wearing a mask all day on a psychiatry ward was certainly odd to start with, and I really felt for the patients when we had to approach them in higher level PPE to do certain procedures. But I loved the job … the patients … the camaraderie … the intellectual stimulation … and I feel as though I have made a difference.