Sharp Scratch

Fresher’s firsts: Socialising

*This episode was recorded live*
This is a strange time to be starting your first year of medical school - covid-19 is changing the way in which you learn and socialise, and find out what being a medical student is about. For some, they may be the first cohort in a brand new medical school - and have no older year to learn from.
Well, Sharp Scratch has done two live episodes to answer all those nagging questions - firstly about the academic side of being a student, and secondly, on the social side.
In this week's episode the panel discuss and reminisce on their first years, including infamous medic socials, friendships and maintaining a good a work-life balance.

Freshers’ firsts : Academic first times

*This episode was recorded live*
This is a strange time to be starting your first year of medical school - covid-19 is changing the way in which you learn and socialise, and find out what being a medical student is about. For some, they may be the first cohort in a brand new medical school - and have no older year to learn from.
Well, Sharp Scratch has done two live episodes to answer all those nagging questions - firstly about the academic side of being a student, and secondly, on the social side.
In this week's episode the panel are joined by Richie Oparka, consultant pathologist and head of first year at Dundee medical school, as they discuss and reminisce on their first years, including dissection, lectures and exams.

How not to bomb your OSCEs

*This episode was recorded before the extraordinary circumstances caused by covid-19*
On this week's episode the panel are joined again by medical school expert David Brill, as they discuss how to approach practical exams and manage nerves, as well as their OSCE disaster stories
Our expert guest
David Brill is an FY2 doctor in London. He successfully navigated studying medicine as a graduate with young children and wrote a book about how to survive medical school "Making a Medic: The Ultimate Guide to Medical School."

How to smash your med school exams

This episode was recorded before the extraordinary circumstances caused by covid-19*
On this week's episode the panel are joined by medical school expert David Brill to discuss all things written exams - preparation in the weeks and months leading up to the exam, and what not to forget on the day.
Our expert guest:
David Brill is an FY2 doctor in London. He successfully navigated studying medicine as a graduate with young children and wrote a book about how to survive medical school "Making a Medics: The Ultimate Guide to Medical School."

Fighting shame by talking about it

This week we dig into shame in medicine - how students are taught using shame, how shame affects patients, and why the phrase "we ask this question to everyone" might not be the most useful way of signposting in a conversation between a doctor and patient.
You can read Lucia's six-part series for the Wellcome Trust about shame here: https://wellcomecollection.org/series/XnIR1BIAACoAdpbI
Our expert guests:
Lucia Osborne-Crowley is a writer and journalist. Her news reporting and literary work has appeared in Granta, GQ, The Sunday Times, HuffPost UK, the Guardian, ABC News, Meanjin, The Lifted Brow and others. I Choose Elena is her first book. Her second book, My Body Keeps Your Secrets, will be published in February 2021.
Dr Chloe Beale is a consultant liaison psychiatrist and the suicide prevention lead for East London NHS Foundation Trust.

Learning online

So much learning for medical students has moved online - with varying degrees of success for both teachers and learners. This week we hear some of our listeners' top tips for protecting your wellbeing whilst staying somewhat productive, hear from our resident remote learning expert Andrew, and reflect on the challenges of learning at home.
Listen to the episode of Deep Breath In on teleconsulting with patients: https://soundcloud.com/bmjpodcasts/teleconsulting-with-trish-greenhalgh-and-fiona-stevenson?in=bmjpodcasts/sets/deep-breath-in
Our contributors:
Catriona McVey is a third year medical student at the University of St Andrews.
Vinay Mandagere is a fourth year medical student at the University of Bristol.
Seb Casalotti is a recent graduate and honorary clinical teaching fellow at UCL medical school , with interests in peer-led learning and resisting Hostile Environment policies in the NHS as a member of Docs Not Cops.

Should you give that casual consultation?

Could you just have a look at...? It's a question lots of medical students and junior doctors encounter from friends and family - rashes, moles and sometimes even haemorrhoids all seem to be fair game to ask about! But what are our ethical (and legal) responsibilities when helping our loved ones? And what about "Good Samaritan" treatment in out of hospital emergencies?
You can read the GMC's guidance Good Medical Practice here: https://www.gmc-uk.org/ethical-guidance/ethical-guidance-for-doctors/good-medical-practice
Our expert guest;
Dr John Smyth is a registered doctor and former GP with more than 25 years’ clinical experience. He has worked at the GMC in its Fitness to Practise directorate for 14 years where he is Assistant Director of the Case Examiner Team. His work at the GMC has included helping to adapt the fitness to practise processes to be more supportive to vulnerable doctors.

How competitive are you?

The panel are joined by one of Anna's academic heroes to discuss competition in medicine. Whilst we all agree a little friendly rivalry can help us learn, how can we make sure competitiveness doesn't affect our wellbeing as med students and new doctors?
Our expert guest:
Dr Heidi Lempp is a Reader in Medical Sociology at King's College London. Her work around medical students includes discussion of the hidden curriculum of medicine and the study of first in family students.
Here's the paper Ryhan spoke about: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0194096#:~:text=The%20use%20of%20competitive%20learning,provide%20a%20pleasant%20classroom%20environment.
Here's Heidi's 2004 paper on the hidden curriculum: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC520997/

Sharp Scratch, talking evidence

This week the Sharp Scratch panel are joined by BMJ podcast veteran Helen Macdonald, one of the hosts of The BMJ's Talk Evidence. We talk evidence based medicine, including getting your head around the fact a yearly health screen might not be the best thing for you...
You can listen to Talk Evidence here: https://www.cebm.net/bmj-talk-evidence-podcast/
To find out more about the Rapid Recommendation series Helen mentions: https://www.bmj.com/content/354/bmj.i5191

Leaving medicine

This week, the Sharp Scratch team is joined by Dr Fiona Godlee, Editor in Chief of The BMJ to talk about what it's like to leave clinical medicine, and how it can be challenging to lose your medical identity.
Our expert guests
Fi Godlee is the first ever female Editor in Chief of The BMJ.
Mayank Bhandari left medicine at the end of his foundation training to pursue a career in management consultancy.