Someone to fall back on

Congratulations! Is this similar to the residency programs we have here in the States?

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Thank you! Uh... it's probably closer to internship? The first couple of years after we graduate.

(Oh my god now I have to pass finals what do I do?)

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How does the program work for you guys in the UK? We've got internship (first year of residency) followed by at least two more years in whatever specialty we choose, but I'm sure it's a little different for you. Do you know what specialty you plan on going into?

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We have two years of 'foundation training' before we specialise, then at least three years of 'ST training' in our specialty.

I'm... still undecided. We don't really have general internal medicine any more, which is what I'd probably like best.

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You don't have a straight up regular medicine program? Wow! I've been vacillating between a medicine subspecialty (which would require me to complete the three year general medicine residency before choosing a fellowship), a pediatric subspecialty (again, three year residency, inclusive of a one year internship, followed by fellowship), or something more procedurally based, like ophtho or anesthesia. All I know so far is that I don't want to be in primary care, and I haven't yet had my surgery clerkship, so I'm withholding judgment until then.

At least you have a little bit more time before you have to start choosing your specialty! I start residency applications in a few months, before I'm even done with all my clerkships, and it's so incredibly daunting.

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Everything's a specialty now. Probably the only real places for general medicine in secondary care are A&E (with no follow up) or paeds. I know I don't want to do surgery. I could be persuaded towards primary care, possibly, but it's not high up on my list of possibilities.

That is tough! Although I'm now choosing my program for the next year, and... I have no idea how I'm going to choose between the rotations.

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Ah, emergency medicine. You know, the only advantage I've ever seen to working in the ER is that you don't have to remember patients' names for longer than a few hours, at most. XD

I like what I've seen of surgery, except for the hours. There's something deeply wrong about rounds starting before sunrise, you know? The other thing with surgery is that it depends on my hand-eye coordination, and I won't know how much of that I have naturally until I get a chance to try it myself, you know? I always have difficulty choosing between electives and rotations too, so don't worry, you're not alone.

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Ahaha. That advantage is a pretty big one though! (I actually really enjoyed my times in A&E. I just can't see myself keeping up with the pace for the rest of my working life though.)

843 options! It's just cruel. Though at least I can send everything with cardiology, urology, ophthalmology and geriatrics to the bottom of the list... which gives me a start.

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That's the thing about choosing a specialty -- as much as I like it right now, I have to think about whether I can still handle it ten, twenty years down the line, and having to think that far in advance is pretty painful.

843 options is cruel, though I admit that I use the "what I will never, ever do, not even if you pay me" approach to choosing electives myself.

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I knoooow. Why is life so hard?

Unfortunately, my list of things I really hate is pretty small. So. *puts nose to the grindstone*

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acchikocchi.livejournal.com

HURRAY! That's great to hear! I'm so glad you've gotten a place you're happy with. ♥♥♥

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&hearts *swings you around in glee*

Now I have to rank 843 possible rotations *HEADDESK OF MONUMENTAL PROPORTIONS* Maybe I'll just... stick pins in random things. IDEK.

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Congratulations! Sounds like you're fond of London, so this is excellent.

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Thank you! Mostly I was worried I was going to be exiled to the middle of nowhere. Or Wales. Now I need to sit down and list my job options. Growing up is hard!

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See, I'd love the chance to live in Wales, so there you go. *G*

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It's nice for a visit, but I'm an old city girl. Cardiff's too new for me, and everywhere else is too small.

(Now watch me get stuck in... Ashford or something.)

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I have no idea of comparative age of cities, and you have to remember that I live in a nation where "old city" is something that was around in the eighteenth century. Ancient is sixteenth and prior. *G*

I don't know the geography well enough to know Ashford.

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The older the better! Roman is ideal XD

It's in Kent, by the coast. Actually very nice, just... small. And also conceivably one of the places I might end up.

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Pffft. I'm of Viking stock. Give me a good longship over an aqueduct. *G*

Oooh, coastal is good. Is it on the coast, or just near it? And for all the things I can get via the internet, I do like being in or near a fair-sized city for some good hangout spots.

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The local curry house is probably the closest I'd get to my ancestral history XD So I'll take the Mediterraneans instead. Though I wouldn't refuse a longship if it was offered! I really need to go back to York at some point.

Near. Although Brighton is another of my possible options, and that's definitely seaside. Sea is good! :D Luckily, hospital work pretty much guarantees being near a good-sized town, but there are some things that are only really available in London.

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Mmm, curry. I am easily distracted by food. *G* And it's not just ancestry, it's that it's a ship. I am predictable in my tastes. ;-)

Oooh, Brighton! Man, I really need to get my passport.

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Hee. Food is a good thing to be distracted by. And I haven't been on a ship, or even a boat, in forever. I should remedy that soon.

... no passport?

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I wish Changmin's hyung-deul were distracted by food more often. Been a while since I've been on a ship that wasn't anchored. Shame.

Nope. I've been lazy about it.

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Definitely. I still want to know what idiot thought it would be a good idea for any of them to be on a diet.

O.O But you can't go anywhere without a passport!

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Whichever of their handlers does research on the Japanese music industry, most likely. The androgynous look is pretty popular there.

I have fifty states to choose from, and I've been to most of them. *G* If I'm gonna go ruin-hopping with Rune down in Oaxaca, though, I'll need it. Also, if I round up the money to go see Senor while he's hanging out in Spain. Also also, Sweden with Eliza, and Japan with various and sundry folks of my acquaintance, and Scotland, Wales, Ireland for family research purposes.

I've got the paperwork, just got to fill it out.

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Androgynous and skeletal are not the same thing. Although I know sometimes the entertainment industries get a tad confused.

I need to make it to South America. One day. I still feel it was a tragedy that I had no clue who the boys were when I was in Japan.

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