Sharp Scratch

How sick, is sick enough, to call in sick?

Med students and docs face pressure to keeping working when they are poorly - compulsory classes, stretched rotas and knackered colleagues, and pride or stigma masquerading as self discipline or resilience. So against the tide of pressure, how sick is sick enough? And what are the costs of working while poorly?
Join medical students Laura and Declan and new panel member Anna Harvey and welcome back Sharp Scratch alumni James Macguire. We also talk to microbiologist Sarah Wylie about why throwing up between patients means you definitely need to go home.
Tell us what you think about the episode and your ideas for topics to cover later in the series by leaving a review or by using #SharpScratch on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
For more on the podcast, including how to follow everyone on social media, visit www.bmj.com/sharpscratch.

The dating life of new doctors

Who’s off limits when it comes to dating, how renal physiology can ruin your chance of romance, and whether you should put that you’re a doctor on your tindr profile.
Dating as a newly qualified doctor brings some challenges that we don’t face as med students: unpredictable hours, exhaustion from night shifts, and professional boundaries with colleagues. And maybe there are some lines we should not cross. How hard is it to find romance while adjusting to life as a doctor?
Join medical students Laura and Declan and new doctor Divolka as we discuss how new doctors can join in the fun part of life that is dating. Featuring three doctors - Alyssa, Dipesh, and Amy - who share their awkward moments from their dating lives. Plus, Rob from Medical Protection gives advice on who’s off limits, and our Sharp Scratch regular Ryhan calls in to tell us how his medical elective is going.
Tell us what you think about the episode and your ideas for topics to cover later in the series by leaving a review or by using #SharpScratch on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
For more on the podcast, including how to follow Laura, Declan, Ryhan, Alyssa, Dipesh, and Rob on social media, visit www.bmj.com/sharpscratch.

Keeping your relationship alive when you become a doctor

The secrets of true love, how being a new doctor affects your sex life, and whether it’s a good idea to date a medic in the first place.
Becoming a doctor brings new challenges to romantic relationships: shift work, commutes, and emotional burdens from work. How can we prepare to carry relationships through this transition? Are linked job applications wise? Is it tougher (as a junior doctor) to date someone who is a junior doctor too than someone in another career?
Join medical student Laura, new doctor Chidera, and Julia Bland from DocHealth which offers medical psychotherapy for doctors. We discuss how to keep a romantic relationship alive in the transition between medical school and your first job as a doctor. Featuring three medical students - Michael, Catriona, and Richard - who bare themselves and reveal what they’re worried about as they consider the future of their relationships.
Tell us what you think about the episode and your ideas for topics to cover later in the series by leaving a review or by using #SharpScratch on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
For more on the podcast, including how to follow Laura, Chidera, Michael, Catriona, and Richard on social media, visit www.bmj.com/sharpscratch.

Tips for new doctors

Your first day of being a doctor is very different to anything in medical school. What can we learn from those who have just finished their first year? What do they wish they had known?
Join medical students Laura and Declan, and surgical registrar Greta as we discuss the tips for new doctors sent in by eight Sharp Scratch listeners who have just finished their first or second year of being a doctor.
Looking for more tips? Read nine pieces of advice for new doctors from Abraar Karan, an internal medicine resident at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital/ Harvard Medical School: https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2019/07/09/abraar-karan-advice-to-new-doctors/. Plus, more tips from doctors who have just finished their first year of being a doctor: https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2018/07/20/tips-for-new-doctors-advice-for-trainees-starting-in-fy1/
Tell us what you think about the episode and your ideas for topics to cover later in the series by leaving a review or by using #SharpScratch on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
For more on the podcast, including how to follow Laura, Declan, Greta, and our eight listeners who gave us their tips on social media, visit www.bmj.com/sharpscratch

Making your first mistake

You've made a mistake. What goes through your mind? How do you share this with your team? Why is it important to recognise the role of systems and human factors in making mistakes? And how do you move on to become a better clinician?
Join medical student Laura, new doctor Chidera, and consultant obstetrician / chief operating officer / quality and safety geek Andy Heeps as we figure out exactly what to expect after making your first mistake. Featuring an interview with Jenny Vaughan, a neurologist and leading medical law campaigner, and Rob Hendry, medical director at Medical Protection.
Tell us what you think about the episode and your ideas for topics to cover later in the series by leaving a review or by using #SharpScratch on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
For more on the podcast, including how to follow Laura, Chidera, Andy, Jenny, and Rob on social media, visit www.bmj.com/sharpscratch

How to treat someone who’s racist or sexist

What happens when you’re treating a patient, and they say something offensive - do you have a duty to continue treating them? Is it OK to walk away? And whatever you choose, will there be consequences on your colleagues or your organisation?
Join medical students Laura and Ryhan, newly qualified doctor Chidera, and Nadeem Moghul, nephrologist and Senior Clinical Fellow at The Nuffield Trust - who changed the way in which his hospital dealt with a racist patient.
Tell us what you think about the episode and your ideas for topics to cover later in the series by leaving a review or by using #SharpScratch on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
For more on the podcast, including how to follow Laura, Ryhan, and Chidera on social media, visit www.bmj.com/sharpscratch

Working with arsehole doctors

You’re on the ward round. Doctor shouts at med student. What happens next?
Join medical students Laura and Ryhan, newly qualified doctor Chidera, and Simon Fleming, orthopod reg and founder of #HammerItOut - which is a campaign to stop bullying in the NHS. We also have an interview with Anne Stephenson - GP, who teaches undergraduate medical students professionalism at Kings College London..
We’ve all met doctors and med students on placement who we just can’t stand - or who make us feel >thisFor more on the podcast, including how to follow Laura, Ryhan, Declan, Cat and Sophie on social media, visit www.bmj.com/sharpscratch

Why CPR isn’t like on TV

Join medical students Laura and Declan, newly qualified doctor Chidera, and CEO of Resuscitation Council UK Sue as we figure out what to expect the first time that we observe or take part in a CPR event—and why it’s not like what we see on TV. Featuring an interview with newly qualified doctor and Youtuber Ali Abdaal, who faced CPR events on his very first day of being a doctor.
It feels inappropriate to observe a CPR event as a medical student, especially as we may not be able to help the team within our competency. But as a new doctor, we will be expected to be competent, whether we’re the first on the scene or joining a team already in action. How do we prepare for the real thing?
Tell us what you think about the episode and your ideas for topics to cover later in the series by leaving a review or by using #SharpScratch on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
For more on the podcast, including how to follow Laura, Ryhan, Declan, Cat and Sophie on social media, visit www.bmj.com/sharpscratch

How to start a project that could actually change something

Why projects fail, how one med student transformed her local emergency department, and why you should go looking for the people in the hospital basement.
Join medical students Laura, Ryhan, Declan, and quality improvement editor Cat as we figure out how to start a project that could actually change something. Featuring an interview with Dundee med student Sophie, who completed a successful project that led to change.
It seems like loads of med students are rushing to get a publication out before they apply for foundation posts, and sometimes audits or small local projects seem like easy pickings. But such projects have the potential to change the environment—right?
If you want to learn more after this episode, check out Cat’s recommendation, How to get started in quality improvement, at https://www.bmj.com/content/364/bmj.k5437.
Tell us what you think about the episode and your ideas for topics to cover later in the series by leaving a review or by using #SharpScratch on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
For more on the podcast, including how to follow Laura, Ryhan, Declan, Cat and Sophie on social media, visit www.bmj.com/sharpscratch

How to refer a patient without p*ssing off the med reg

Why the hospital switchboard is the friend you never knew you had, how using emotions can
help you refer a patient, and what it takes to make a med reg hang up the phone on you.
We learn management for many of the cases will see - but often our algorithms end with ‘refer to seniors’ or ‘refer to specialists’. How do we refer our patients to other doctors? What must we include, what could we include, how are we most likely to make a successful referral?
Follow the guests on social media
James Maguire on
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jamesma9uire
LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/dr-james-maguire-84717a170
Charlotte Durand on
Twitter: https://twitter.com/char_durand
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chardurand/