Ah Fuck It...

I do realise I don't post on blog as often as I should. In part I wanted it to be a diary-ish thing for me, and partially just to vent anything publicly.


But neither happened really.


So I'm still a Health Care Assistant in an Emergency Department somewhere in SW London/Surrey, I'm applying for medicine (again) and didn't get in (again).

What do I do now?


I'm thinking something like travelling. Opinions?

It's Day 7...

...in A&E.

I managed to do my UKCAT last week, 650 average, lower than last year (675) but I suppose it'll have to do.

I've been at work for 2 weeks now, and there's been some interesting stuff going on, notably we declared a major incident for something something something*, a prolapsed bowel (which I can only describe as.... intestines falling through the arse. literally) which the surgeons didn't believe. Yes, they didn't believe the bowel had prolapsed. In fairness, I didn't believe it, nor had our middle grade seen it before.

But yes, all in all, work is good. Though I didn't like the 3 long days in a row I've just had. Translation - a 12hr shift (8am-8pm) on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

I want to send off my UCAS next week, but stupid trust induction next week. Oh well, a reference from one of the consultants and an academic one from my (former) head of sixth will have to get done during my induction week instead. Arse.

*Nothing personal - just if I said you probably could work out where I work and who I am. Not so sure I'm that comfortable doing so yet. Though probably major incident is enough to work that out - get googling!

Results are out! Results are out!

Could be better, but then again I'm an arse (and hungover). And have very academic focused parents.

AAAB.

B in psychology (side note: it's a fake science, so it's ok, no need to panic).

Looks like I need to start ucas again. Arse.

But I do start my job in the ED as a HCA as from Monday. Arse.

Job Front

So I now still provisionally have a job.

However, I do have all the paperwork sorted (yay), CRB is clear (yay), Occupational Health cleared me (yay), references have been written and checked (yay) and I've also started my hep B vaccination (not so yay - hurty deltoid).

So I'm told I have a induction to the trust and basic training for a week in 2 weeks. The week after results. The same week I have the UKCAT. Balls.

A healthcare assistant in a Greater London ED applying for medical school (again). Nobody told me it everything could clash this much?

Oh Cynicism, Thou Art a Heartless Bitch....

Many a wise person has told me to never trust the media. And Politicians. And Hitachi. (It's because they never had luck with Hitachi hard drives....)

And more importantly statistics. Because statistics can be manipulated. And they always are.

Still, a rather 'lower' key news event this week (because swine flu has decided to scare everyone) has been about social mobility and how some of the top professions are still closed off to anyone but the rich, typically, including subjects like medicine and law.

BBC News have covered this and I had the telly on in the background as they were reporting it the other day. In summary, about 55%(ish) of medics are privately educated (independent schools) and this hasn't changed since the 1980s. In contrast, other professions such as in the law profession, that percentage has dropped, and in journalism has swung the other way.

Hmmm... not sure if I should take this with a large pinch of salt. Or is there no room for the state schooled, low income, ethnic minority who's taking a gap year to reapply for medicine then? I could save my money (if I ever start as a HCA), go for the no-fees uni system (if that ever gets implemented) and try my luck at SGUL, because I'd be able to pay most of my way throught. Surely that's appealing right? Right? (but the thought of being that close to home wants to make me shove a biro through my temple)

Might be worth my while having a look at something else I could do in Sep/Oct 2010.