There are periods in my life where I find myself in a different kind of race. The life/work relay. It often happens around the lead up to a marathon. This time, the 2 weeks before the Edinburgh Marathon were hectic as hell.
The beginning of May marked the end of being a Lung Registrar and the start of being the triple threat of being a Brain, Skin, and Melanoma Registrar. All fun to learn about as a Clinical Oncology trainee. BUT the week of the 12th of May may have been one of the most challenging weeks at work.
Monday – having all the day planned out, with childminder picking kids up from school as I will finish late from Melanoma clinic, got a message that our childminder has gastroenteritis. Panic, 2 hours before clinic starts. I had already told the school of the arrangement. Scrambled to message one of the other parents to pick the kids up. Got lucky and grateful to have them. David picked them up. Simultaneously, also found out that I was working the evening shift! And foolishly agreed to swapping an evening shift with a colleague for the following evening!
Tuesday – I didn’t go to Skin clinic as we had all day Specialty Registrar training on Teenage and Young Adult cancers and communication. Good teaching day and we get a nice free lunch. Then had to rush back to the hospital for the back to back evening shift.
Wednesday – I am the Emergency Radiotherapy Registrar and out of nowhere, I had to deal with 9 (NINE) referrals! Thankfully, only 1 needed urgent radiotherapy that morning – all the others, I managed to delegate/someone had already started planning. Whew!
In the afternoon, at the Neuro-Oncology clinic, my first new patient encounter. I will remember this as one of my best ones. Although, the patient and her husband already know that she has incurable brain cancer, we have to work hard at gaining their trust that we will be with them throughout the treatment (chemoradiotherapy) aiming to push back the inevitable for as long as we possibly can. It was one of the most rewarding consultations as both the patient and her husband unexpectedly gave the most detailed feedback on how well it went (given she has terminal brain cancer). So that was good.
Thursday – although this was admin day, I spent the whole day planning for the next day – the Acute Oncology Teaching Day. I was on Emergency Radiotherapy duty again and dealt with another referral (at least it wasn’t 9).
Friday – the 4th Acute Oncology Teaching Day. This is also one of my favourites days. This is my baby. Twice a year, I set up a free teaching day with 8 lectures of varying Oncology issues to doctors, nurses, PAs, GPs, GP trainees and other healthcare professionals within the Wessex Deanery, who are interested in learning more about Oncology. And what a joy and privilege it is! We received great feedback from everyone. Yet again, hectic but a really good day.
Saturday and Sunday – Weekend On-Call, another 2 long days. To be clear, I had 4 (FOUR) long days this week! Luckily the weekend on-call was calm and there were no sickies or deaths in the ward.
As it is getting warmer and lighter in Southsea, I also got to take the kids out to the beach after work/school.
In the 2 weeks leading up to the Edinburgh, I managed a 14 mile run and a 3 mile run. Along with the madness at work, I am also nursing a shin splint. So although my legs are well rested, I hope they still have some strength left for tomorrow – the Edinburgh Marathon!
Reach for the Seven Stars 