
Junior Doctors: Their Lives in Your Hands
When I wrote my New Year post, I was ready to leap into frequent updates, including on the important topic of self-care for writers.
Then life happened.
As most of you know, in addition to being a screenwriter and novelist, I am also a junior doctor. On 3rd February, I started a new job as an Advanced Trainee in Psychiatry - also known as a Specialist Registrar, or a psychiatrist who is becoming more specialised in one particular field.
Medicine is a professional vocation that was once very popular, well thought of, and attractive to bright young things looking to make a difference. In many ways, it is still that - but it's also becoming harder.
Let us count the ways:
Cuts to NHS funding
One of the first things you learn as a newly-qualified doctor is how to use the fax machine. As a twenty-something in 2010, I hadn't the faintest idea why we were addicted to this technology, but we still cling to it....