“Don’t trust your colleagues”

“…thinking back, what makes me sad (and a little bit ashamed), is that the primary message was, ‘Don’t trust your colleagues.'”

Silly Season: The Doctor’s Definition

That morning, you drive to work in record time. Did the whole world go on holiday simultaneously? you wonder, only vaguely aware that the answer to your question is yes. You go to the Human Resources department, and find them on skeleton staff. Nothing of importance can really be done until the middle of next

in memoriam

it is a curious thing, when one of our own dies young. and I do mean curious there are just a handful of common things that kill young doctors and our profession demands nay normalises we find those common-things-that-occur-commonly this is no simple diagnostics it is more than morbid curiosity it is a need-to-know (if

The Future of This Blog

Someone once commented on this blog’s heading*. “Reader, traveler, politics, medical student…” they mused, “Are you sure you’re in the right field of study?” For a second, I thought they were joking. But they weren’t. I had spent enough time wrestling with my career choice. Suggesting that it was a poor one did not dissuade

Intro for Anaesthetic Undergraduate Students

The student was standing on their tip-toes, peering over the drapes. They had barely looked at the ventilator, so engrossed were they in the surgery.  “So, are you here for anaesthesia, or for surgery?” our registrar asked.  The student turned. “Well… I am on my anaesthesia rotation, technically… but I’m actually interested in surgery.” Ten

“What Makes Anaesthetists So Special?”

It is a well-known fact that anaesthetic doctors in South African public hospitals have guaranteed pre-call and post-call. The medical officers that I know from other surgical departments, all appreciate the reasons we insist on safe working hours. I have never heard them suggest it be taken away. But management staff and senior consultants (of

[Book Review] Every Minute Is A Day by Robert Meyer and Dan Koeppel

Not all COVID-books are for doctors. Like many healthcare workers, I have often turned to narratives to cope with my work, and these have been plentiful during the (COVID) pandemic. But eventually one reaches a point where you can no longer look into the mirror of your daily life – and I have reached that

Train your trainees

Sometimes, I think clinicians forget that they were inexperienced and under-qualified juniors once, too. There is nothing admirable about learning to place an intercostal drain on YouTube, without senior supervision, as many of us like to brag.

Why I left private practice for the public sector

Some of the greatest psychological stressors are said to include breakups, death, moving house, and starting a new job. Sometimes we choose one or more of these willingly, and hope to hell that the payoff will be worth it. For two years, I worked in private general practice in Cape Town. The benefits of this kind

My Advice for Your ComServe Application

It’s almost time for the asynchronous community service applications in SA, and shortly thereafter the regular applications will begin. So I thought I’d take a break from dispensing medicine, and dispense a tip I could have used: Apply somewhere that is going to challenge you. Apply somewhere that you will be expected to work with