12th April 2020
Yesterday was my 25th birthday. Yep, 25 years on Earth - or a quarter of my life already up as my parents put it. Its a pretty good time to be at home. Spring has arrived. Sun is out. Plenty of chocolate in the house. It's also halftime for the degree. Lots of exciting things to look back on and build towards.
- Led the Academic Medicine Society in my Second Year
- Summer Research Project in the Institute of Cancer Research at Newcastle University
- StaffBank Shifts at Epsom & St Helier.
Three exceptional opportunities that I've been able to carry on and build upon from previous university experiences. But what haven't I done?
- Reached Top 10%
- Published.
So there's the real question that matters. What matters to you most and what matters most to you now. We can spend time + look at patterns of how others have built their careers and sit in admiration and think about what we should do. But what matters to you is personal, might be original and in my mind. Everything else on leading societies / further summer research / healthcare assistant work have roles to play too:
But let's be clear before we dig deeper - aka the need to further build upon what we've done.
Set some clear goals above your desk - just two sentences. What do you want to do with your time now? Just two years left at university. Make the most of it.
Sunday, 12 April 2020
Friday, 3 April 2020
What Will It Take
Monday 24th March
Day 1 of Lockdown has arrived.
All non-essential shops have no closed. My laptop battery + FIFA 20 video game are in the post! Will they arrive?
The seriousness of
....
....the situation is becoming clear.
Summer Research
A week ago last Wednesday, I was rejected from my ICR Summer Research Project. The reason? Ultimately, this time we decided to go for another candidate that has already experience on the topic that we will be working on.
That ends my third ICR application in three years. This time to an interview. An improvement but experience is lacking. Perhaps a more clear demonstration of my experience? How does that translate to working on future projects? Definitely felt an awkward interview. Embracing that awkwardness has also been a challenge in recent days.
Healthcare Assistant
A week ago last Thursday, I was given a conditional offer to work as a Healthcare Assistant in A&E at St Peter's Hospital. There were no 'well dones,' or 'congratulations' from family members. The big challenge is Covid-19.
Since lockdown, deaths have risen. Certain people are at risk. None more so than a 56 year old father with Type 2 Diabetes of South Asian descent.
After a third family huddle, it has become clear that I cannot work from home. Precautions and checklists were great but media-provoked and insider-acknowledged fears are clear. Lack of testing. Lack of PPE. Lack of guidance. The decision is currently final. I cannot work from home. I felt prepared to handle this huddle. The prior huddle was sprung upon me whilst I was playing FIFA 20 -a dreadful game that I recommend no one to go through the pain of playing. It really does take clarity of mind to handle challenging conversations. You simply cannot rehearse a speech to handle this. This is not a press conference or a news bulletin. This is as real as it gets.
What will it take for me to work in clinical practice currently? Arriving home to spend time with family cannot seemingly blend well with being able to commit yourself clinically. This is a sticky reality.
In the meantime I've applied for an HLA Scholarship (last minute thanks to BST timezones with lots of supportive advice from the sister), begun to research epidemiological models and loosely done some background revision. There is more to do outside of clinical practice. Just not having the option to do so is very, very tough. For now, I've enquired about a reduction in rent to enable me to live outside from home. Speculative and hopeful. We will just have to wait.
Day 1 of Lockdown has arrived.
All non-essential shops have no closed. My laptop battery + FIFA 20 video game are in the post! Will they arrive?
The seriousness of
....
....the situation is becoming clear.
Summer Research
A week ago last Wednesday, I was rejected from my ICR Summer Research Project. The reason? Ultimately, this time we decided to go for another candidate that has already experience on the topic that we will be working on.
That ends my third ICR application in three years. This time to an interview. An improvement but experience is lacking. Perhaps a more clear demonstration of my experience? How does that translate to working on future projects? Definitely felt an awkward interview. Embracing that awkwardness has also been a challenge in recent days.
Healthcare Assistant
A week ago last Thursday, I was given a conditional offer to work as a Healthcare Assistant in A&E at St Peter's Hospital. There were no 'well dones,' or 'congratulations' from family members. The big challenge is Covid-19.
Since lockdown, deaths have risen. Certain people are at risk. None more so than a 56 year old father with Type 2 Diabetes of South Asian descent.
After a third family huddle, it has become clear that I cannot work from home. Precautions and checklists were great but media-provoked and insider-acknowledged fears are clear. Lack of testing. Lack of PPE. Lack of guidance. The decision is currently final. I cannot work from home. I felt prepared to handle this huddle. The prior huddle was sprung upon me whilst I was playing FIFA 20 -a dreadful game that I recommend no one to go through the pain of playing. It really does take clarity of mind to handle challenging conversations. You simply cannot rehearse a speech to handle this. This is not a press conference or a news bulletin. This is as real as it gets.
What will it take for me to work in clinical practice currently? Arriving home to spend time with family cannot seemingly blend well with being able to commit yourself clinically. This is a sticky reality.
In the meantime I've applied for an HLA Scholarship (last minute thanks to BST timezones with lots of supportive advice from the sister), begun to research epidemiological models and loosely done some background revision. There is more to do outside of clinical practice. Just not having the option to do so is very, very tough. For now, I've enquired about a reduction in rent to enable me to live outside from home. Speculative and hopeful. We will just have to wait.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)