Psychiatry Resident

I love it. I could easily be a psychiatrist. It's just very interesting to me.

I will continue my GP training pathway though because I do want a life outside of work and GP provides the best work-life balance. I will do extra training in psychiatry though.

For the past two weeks I've recommenced my TAM (Tracy Anderson Method) workouts. This time I'm streaming! I absolutely love it. Tracy has really grown i the past few years since I've not done her method and I'm very happy with what she's up to. There is a lot more focus on paraspinal strength and functional strength and mobility. Also on the mind-body connectedness regarding not just movement but strength and health.

Already I feel brilliant. What i really wanted was the energy and strenghth to play with my kids more, both at home and at the playground. So often I get there and just want to sit down and have a coffee. Yesterday I finally got that motivation and energy back and went on the pay ground equipment and they climbed all over me and I felt good within my body.

MY aim is to do it daily, allowing a day or two missed a week if necessary (but hopefully not).

Pandemic!

The Covid-19 pandemic hit in full-swing during my ED term. It threw a few of our normal practices up in the air, including our training schedules, exam dates, rotations, and day-to-day operation.

We were VERY lucky at our hospital. We saw Covid cases but were spared the tsunami that has broken many EDs around the world. We were certainly stretched and patients did not get the highest level of care in the most timely manner during that time but I think overall we avoided major bad outcomes.

Considering Emergency Departments are normally stretched thin on a normal day, the pandemic was very difficult to deal with.

Many of my colleagues and patients were very anxious, stressed, and scared. The PPE was horrible to wear (hot, itchy, restrictive) but we were thankful to have plenty. We also had to homeschool our eldest daughter and my husband took a brea from studying law to maintain the home front.

The first wave is behind us now and at the end of this week I move into Psychiatry.

I'm so happy to be off shift work for a while and onto normal shifts but I will miss having weekdays off.

The pandemic also paused my progress on the WBA so I am not due to finish that in October instead of July. Many of my colleagues are in a much worse position with exams being postponed etc.

Overall, I'm looking forward to the next term, working my through this year and to General Rgistration, and seeing what next year holds.