The Little Careers Book

࢚࢚ You get your endorphins by helping others – relieving patient suffering is at the heart of healthcare. ࢚࢚ Hospitals run 24/7/365 and hours are long. ࢚࢚ There are specialties in which you will have greater control of your own time than others, but healthcare is rightly becoming a round-the-clock service. ࢚࢚ One gets very little recognition or thanks from patients and you are always aware of the possibility of litigation. ࢚࢚ Salaries can be attractive, especially in some areas of healthcare, but if you worked out an hourly rate, given the long hours, salaries would be less attractive. ࢚࢚ Healthcare is more complex, intense, and fragmented than ever before. ࢚࢚ Doctors have less sense of a ‘special’ status within the healthcare hierarchy than they once did. ࢚࢚ Junior doctors struggle in their early years to see the impact they have on patients, individually and collectively. ࢚࢚ The vast majority of doctors in the UK work in the NHS, which is under intense public scrutiny and subject to policy experimentation; this can be both stimulating and demoralising at the same time. ࢚࢚ Public sector (NHS) pension benefits are better than private sector pensions (but that may not always be the case). ࢚࢚ Whilst it is possible to live in a rural area and work in a big conurbation, the home to work travel times are prohibitive. ࢚࢚ If patients come first, the family comes second, so sacrifices include a lack of involvement in family life and a regret of not being around for one’s children. ࢚࢚ It is possible to develop a ‘private practice’ and become wealthy. ࢚࢚ Where you end up working and living may be very far away from where your parents and friends live. TRUTHS XX Orthopaedic surgeons are all egocentric gorillas and GPs are all sandal wearing lefties. XX If you are interested making money, consider becoming a doctor. ࢚࢚ There are places in healthcare for all personalities (and all physical shapes!) ࢚࢚ Your personality has to be a flexible and adaptable one because healthcare is an inexact and unpredictable field. ࢚࢚ Your honesty and moral character must be evident in order to earn the trust of those with whom you work. ࢚࢚ For those who work with patients, you need to be a kind, caring, empathetic, emotionally intelligent, and non-judgemental sort. ࢚࢚ Persistent, dogged finishers who see things through to the end do well. ࢚࢚ You must take responsibility for your own decisions, actions and failures; the buck stops with you. ࢚࢚ You are always going to be wrong in someone’s eyes, so emotional robustness is vital, as is the ability to take on board other people’s views of you and to change. ࢚࢚ You have to be dedicated in order to put up with inconsistent and anti-social work and on-call shifts. ࢚࢚ Having strong relationships and interests outside of your career can help maintain mental and emotional health. MYTHS MYTHS TRUTHS REWARDS AND SACRIFICES PERSONALITY TRAITS