Sharp Scratch

Medical school is tough for students, with high workloads, exam pressure and uncertainty around placement rotations. So what is the impact on us when a family member or loved one becomes unwell? How do medics cope with this, and how do they find the balance between being both a medic and a loved one? 

In this episode, the Sharp Scratch panel explore what it is like when a family member or loved one is unwell, the pressures we face when supporting them, and how we can best support ourselves, through medical school and our future careers. 

The panel are joined by guest Hilary Williams, a consultant medical oncologist and Vice President for the Royal College of Physicians. 

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We are embracing spooky season here at Sharp Scratch!

In this weeks special Halloween episode, the panel get together to hear listeners  embarrassing OSCE stories, and why these exams can sometimes feel so scary to medical students. 

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Medical students do not live in a bubble, we bring with us our own culture, traditions, and often our religion. In this episode we discuss how being a religious medic can influence how you navigate your practice and how thinking about spirituality can be helpful in developing your holistic understanding of patients.

This week, Éabha is joined by Judy and Elisabeth, and expert guest Charlie Bell, a forensic psychiatry trainee, a priest in the Church of England, and director of studies in Medicine at Girton College, Cambridge. 

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Who’s off limits when it comes to dating, how renal physiology can ruin your chance of romance, and whether you should put that you’re a doctor on your tindr profile.

Dating as a newly qualified doctor brings some challenges that we don’t face as med students: unpredictable hours, exhaustion from night shifts, and professional boundaries with colleagues. Are some lines we should not cross? How hard is it to find romance while adjusting to life as a doctor?

Join medical students Laura and Declan and new doctor Divolka as we discuss how new doctors can join in the fun part of life that is dating. Featuring three doctors - Alyssa, Dipesh, and Amy - who share their awkward moments from their dating lives. Plus, Rob from Medical Protection gives advice on who’s off limits, and our Sharp Scratch regular Ryhan calls in to tell us how his medical elective is going.

Tell us what you think about the episode and your ideas for topics to cover later in the series by leaving a review or by using #SharpScratch on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

For more on the podcast, including how to follow Laura, Declan, Ryhan, Alyssa, Dipesh, and Rob on social media, visit www.bmj.com/sharpscratch.

Have you ever had a really bad day at placement? Perhaps something really awful has happened, or something has upset you, or another member of the team, or maybe you’ve made a mistake. This year, many episodes of sharp scratch have touched on the idea of debriefing after events like these, but in this episode, we talk a little more about debriefing. What is it? When is it useful? And who can we debrief with? 

This week, Éabha is joined by Nikki and Inez, and expert guest Jo Flowers, a senior resuscitation officer in the north of England. 

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Transitioning from school to university is challenging for everyone, but is perhaps even more so when that transition involves moving to a whole new country. International medical students are those of us in medical training who undertake their studies in a different country to the one they call home. Whether that’s a short hop across borders or moving to the other side of the world, studying in a new country comes with a unique of challenges.  

In this episode, the sharp scratch panel explore the journey of an international medical student. What is it like to get into, and get through medical school in a different country to the one you grew up in? How can you adjust to a new country and a new healthcare system? How does that impact students? Is there anything students studying closer to home can do to support their international friends and colleagues.

The panel is joined by expert guest Nitin Shroti, a consultant urologist and BMA council member. Nitin has written extensively and campaigned for better support of ethnic minorities in UK health institutions. With 30 years of experience in the NHS as an international medical graduate, he brings both personal and professional insights into the systemic issues faced by medics coming from overseas.

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Trans people experience disproportionately poor health outcomes, with a recent study funded from the NIHR finding that trans and non binary patients are more likely to experience long term health conditions, including dementia, learning disabilities, and mental health problems. In this episode, we talk about how current and future doctors can be equipped with some of the tools we need to support the delivery of healthcare to trans patients. 

Whilst this is a super broad and complex topic, this episode focuses on some common misconceptions and challenge ideas in regards to gender and transness, and helps us to learn a little more about how we can best support these patients. 

We are joined by Duncan Shrewsbury, a queer academic GP based in Brighton. Duncan is a Reader in Clinical Education & Primary Care at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, they are the Deputy Lead for Curriculum Development, the research lead for the Department of Medical Education, and the lead the Academic GP training. They also work clinically, delivering both primary and gender affirming healthcare. 

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Studying medicine can make us feel like we’re being shaped to become anonymous cogs in a health-delivering machine. To be effective, it can seem that we need to fit ourselves into a universal mold, unable to make decisions or express individuality. Many students have expressed outrage towards the recent changes made in the UKFPO allocation programme that removes the ability of graduating students to determine where they end up. Loss of agency has been closely linked to burnout, making it important for us to manage as we progress through our careers. 

In this episode, we could talk about our ability to exert our agency while studying medicine. How does studying medicine and working as a doctor affect our agency, and what impact does that have on us? What can we do to overcome constraints on our ability to make decisions? 

The panel are joined by Rakesh Patel, professor of medical education and head of MBBS at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry. 

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Éabha is a guest judge for the Immerse Education essay competition. If you are an aspiring medical student aged 13-18 years, enter now for a chance to win a fully funded place at one of their award winning summer schools. Get more information here.