Today I was carrying the bleep during the day time – occasionally this is needed and we’re all a team so any extra on-call is shared fairly! The morning is spent on the ward round, followed by emergency clinic with acute patients with fractures or abscesses. In the afternoon I had no on-call jobs, so assisted with surgical extractions and biopsies. You’re encouraged to be independent, but there is always a senior available if you need assistance. I handover to my colleague at 8pm who will be on-call from home overnight.

This is my day off before working the weekend. I spent some time on the beach – never would have appreciated this so much in a pre-COVID world!

48 hours on-call begin. Handover at 8.30am and ward round. This weekend my 2nd and Consultant on-call were based in Derriford Hospital, Plymouth so we discussed the current inpatients via telephone and agreed a plan. There were referrals spread throughout the day for lacerations, abscesses and a dislocated jaw.

I reviewed our inpatient in the morning and had a few A&E referrals. The unfortunate ‘highlight’ was a child with severe dog bites to their face. The child coped incredibly well and the whole team acted quickly to ensure their pain was managed. This was repaired in theatre and thankfully had a great result. At times, it can feel daunting to know your senior support it based one hour away, but it’s a brilliant way to develop your own independence and ensure you gather all the information needed before calling for assistance.

I found moving down to Devon exciting, and cannot recommend it highly enough – purely for quality of life! The benefit of being non-resident is if there’s nothing happening, you can be at home (or the beach!). Every week is different, and hospital experience is valuable no matter where your career takes you, for both confidence and experience.