dcarrington5

Twelve years ago, when I was a junior doctor in training, my supervisor at the time sat me down to provide feedback on my work. Overall, he was happy with me, but he said one thing that has been burned into my memory ever since. Don't ever admit to the patient that you don't know something. He went on to talk about confidence and that you must always keep up the appearance that you know what you are doing and the doctor cannot admit to uncertainty....blah, blah, blah... I must admit, I zoned...

For many years, I thought I was going crazy. Every winter, I found myself feeling unusually low in mood. Flat. Depressed. All of the activities I usually loved, like gardening, lost their appeal. It was hard to get out of bed every morning. Exercise seemed impossible. Then, when spring came around, it would magically lift. There would always be that one day when the sun felt warmer and the air smelled different and I knew the winter was over. It was easier to get up in the morning. I couldn't...

Yesterday, a colleague sent me a link to a petition. Our regional dermatology service is losing their registrar training position due to lack of funding. This is going to be a huge blow for a region where we already wait for weeks or months for appointments. As a rural GP, when I moved here from the city I quickly realised I needed to drastically upskill in dermatology. I no longer had the luxury of referring on when I was stuck. The statistics quoted on the link were shocking. Less than ten...