Southampton General Hospital Open Day

One of the theaters at the hospital

Earlier I went along the the Southampton General Hospital open day. I wasn't really sure what to expect, as I haven't attended anything like this before but I was definitely not disappointed. A large amount of the hospital was open for you to look around, with many hospital staff and enthusiastic volunteers on hand to give you information.

Having had a look on google maps my dad and I decided we'd catch the train to Southampton Central and walk to the hospital. The distance is about 5km each way, which was perfectly walkable, but we rather underestimated how long it takes to walk the distance. We were running late anyway and arrived at the hospital with around two hours 'til the end of the open day.

First we attended the 'virtual autopsy' which was presented by two members of the pathology team. They spoke about all the reasons behind performing autopsies, which was insightful as I'm ashamed to admit I came into the presentation with a CSI mindset. It had not occurred to me the role an autopsy can have for a grieving family, as it can give explanations and closure when the death may be surrounded by unexplained circumstances. Up until today I had thought of autopsies as very controlled and distanced from the interpersonal aspects of practicing medicine. The virtual autopsy included  the dissection of pigs organs accompanied by photographs of real autopsies and specimens. It was very interesting, and made me want to pick up some hearts from the supermarket on the way home and borrow my dad's scalpel...
The presentation has made me feel that performing post mortems would probably not be my cup of tea, career-wise. That said, other areas of pathology such as genetics and haematology sound intriguing.

We also visited the rather beautiful theaters. They are very modern facilities with floor to ceiling windows on one side of the room. These provide a lot of natural light in the theaters during the day, as well as giving a (fairly) lovely view over the hospital campus. It seemed like an amazing facility to work in, and I have made a mental not to keep an eye on jobs in Southampton should I become a surgeon. There were two surgeries set up, one on the tonsils and one on a slipped disc. This was a bit surreal, as I had my tonsils removed when I was younger, and my mum underwent surgery on a slipped disc around 6 or 7 years ago. However this put me in the perfect position to ask questions to the surgical team, as I have some background knowledge of the procedures and the theater staff and anaesthetists were very friendly and informative.

I only wish we had arrived earlier in the day, as what we saw today was really the tip of the iceberg considering the amount of areas which are opened up and activities which are available. I'll definitely try to make the whole 4 hours next year!

Hospital work experience

I've completed my application for work experience at my local hospital. I'll pop it in the post tomorrow on my way to college. I'm not expecting an opportunity soon, as they receive lots of applications and I, like everyone else, am only free during holiday time. Hopefully I'll be able to do something before sending off my uni applications this time next year.

Care Home Volunteering

I've organised a placement as a volunteer at my local nursing home starting on the 26th October. As a volunteer I won't be able to actively supply any care. However I can observe the nurses and will be talked through care plans which are put in place for residents with different medical needs. It will give me experience of interacting with patients in a care environment. I'm very much looking forward to it.

GCSEs and St Johns..

So, rather belatedly, I'm writing my GCSE results post.
6 x A*  4 x A  1 x B
Not bad. I got straight As in my individual sciences, which is good but I'm slightly disappointed about my Biology, as I was really hoping for an A*.
I was away in Cornwall on results day, and therefore missed going into school to collect mine. My mum bought the local paper as a few of my friends were photographed and interviewed in the local results section. We read the article, and at the bottom my name was mentioned. The article featured the grades of the few highest achieving students at local schools, and from what I can gather from the grades published, I was top of my school!
I've now moved on to sixth form college, where I am studying Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Fine Art. Aiming for that all important AAA for my uni applications!

Last night I went to my St Johns Ambulance meeting which was attended by a woman from the county division. Unfortunately the unit I am a part of will be closing down in December of this year. I will therefore have to look into the possibilities of transferring to another local SJA unit, or perhaps volunteering with another, preferably similar, organisation.

Now I've started studying A Levels I'm hoping I'll have more to post about, so watch this space...

Summer schools

Since I've left school and have so much spare time I decided to look at medicine summer schools and open days, only to realise I've left it way too late for anything this year. Damn! I'll learn from it and be applying in like January next year.
I have found one interesting looking summer school for 15-18 year olds run by Debate Chamber. It costs £250 though, so I'll have to nag the parents...

First post in a while..

So, I've organised my St Johns paperwork (finally!) so should be a proper member in the next couple of weeks.
The lovely lady at the friends of St Richards phoned me back and is going to see if it would be possible for me to volunteer on the wards. We'll see how that goes later, as I'm much too tied up in GCSEs at the moment.
Sciences are going well... chemistry and biology anyway. There's something about physics which just doesn't click in my brain, but I should be alright considering I'm not continuing it at A Level.

Developments

So yesterday I went along to St. John's, and I'm allowed to stay in adults! Happy happy. I'm sorting out my crb next week.
Also got a voicemail from the friends of St Richards hospital. Apparently they'd love to have me, as they're understaffed. The main woman is on holiday at the moment, so I need to contact her when she's back. Sounds promising.

Today has been a good day.

I feel like today I've done quite a lot. In reality I haven't, but for me, considering my opportunities at the moment it wasn't half bad.

In Biology we dissected a kidney. I find these kinds of hands on lessons really interesting, especially as it gives me the chance to make incisions through real tissue. It makes me want to take part in some surgery. The only downside was the unavoidable smell which wafted from the kidneys - it smelt not unlike an unpleasant public toilet.

I've also attended my first St John's Ambulance meeting. I have to go along again next week, and do a crb check, then wait for that to clear and then I can get properly involved. St John's seem to have made a few changes to the first aid qualifications, which some members of the group are unhappy about, but luckily by joining now I've avoided all that. I got to have a go at CPR on the 'Annie' dummy, and also practiced using a defibrillator to restart the heart. I have had 'staying alive' stuck in my head since though! There is a slight worry that I'm too young to be a part of the adult group, despite this group being on the details I was sent after applying online and marking my age as 16-17. It should be okay, and I hope it will be. The alternative would be St John's cadets, which is a good group for young people, but they take children from age 10 upwards and I can't help but wonder how many opportunities will be available for people so young. I'd really rather remain with the adults. Fingers crossed...

Hospital friend

I've downloaded the 'Become a Friend' leaflet for my local hospital - St Richard's. I would like to volunteer there but my age is an issue as you have to be 18. Still, becoming a friend gets me into a hospital environment, which is always a good thing. Hopefully it will give me a chance to get to know some of the staff, and ask them about working in a hospital (and maybe even mention shadowing..) I'll post the form tomorrow.

My first post

I'm starting this blog to record my experiences as I try to lay the foundations for a career in medicine. As I'm only 16 I'll probably not have much to write yet, but hopefully what I do will be worthwhile. We'll see...