Elizabeth Crichton

Moved to New Zealand and pursued a job in psychiatry to further develop my knowledge and explore a potential career in this speciality. Worked for 6 months with the Mental Health for Older Persons team and currently working with the Acute Response Crisis team. Developed appreciation for the importance of cultural awareness in ensuring best care for an individual and their Whanau as well as recognising my personal responsibility for continued growth in this area. Participated in the 'Engaging Effectively with Maori' course in contribution to this. Gained experience in assessing and managing a range of psychiatric presentations in a variety of different areas including infant, child and adolescent psychiatry, perinatal, general adult and old age psychiatry. Developed skills in working within a broader multi-disciplinary team and of clear communication. Overall my work here as inspired me to pursue a career in this specialty.

Worked at the Ulster hospital as a locum where I covered the Covid outpatient treatment centre, the Transition ward and later a rehab ward. I triaged referrals for Covid antiviral treatment to ensure that high-risk individuals received treatment, reducing risk of serious illness. I also worked in the 'transition ward' where we looked after patients who are 'medically fit for discharge' but have another reason they cannot leave hospital. Here I am involved in multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings, discharge planning and reviewing medical issues. As it is a vulnerable population I often manage acutely unwell patients; assess them, initiate treatment/investigations and liaise with their consultant. In the case of staff shortage I also cover acute medical wards of various specialties, where I will do daily reviews and consultant ward rounds. This job has helped to further develop my medical skills and taught me a lot about the MDT and working within a team.

Took time out to travel following FY2 year. Travelled through the United Kingdom, France and Italy in a converted van. Pursued personal interests, particularly hiking and rock climbing. Valuable time for reflecting on foundation experiences and career aspirations. Kept up with medical knowledge through BMJ e-learning and reading the Oxford handbook of general medicine.

Forth Valley Royal Hospital

Medicine of the Elderly - 04/23 - 08/23

Involved work based on a medicine of the elderly ward with out-of-hours cover of other medical specialties. Also with acute medical receiving work. Supervised and supported FY1 colleagues prior to their transition to FY2. Developed skills in challenging communication with patients and relatives, particularly at the end of life. Participated in a Quality Improvement project centred around Adults With Incapacity forms. Put skills from the Advanced Life Support course into practice as a member of the adult resuscitation team.

Accident and Emergency - 12/22 - 04/23

Consisted of work in minors, majors and Resus for both adults and children. Developed procedural skills such as Iliofascial blocks, suturing and manipulation of dislocations. Broadened knowledge of surgical, medical, paediatric, psychiatric and gynaecological presentations. Learnt to stay calm in a busy, high-pressure environment.

Psychiatry - 08/22 - 12/22

Inpatients and outpatients combined with a strong community health emphasis. Focus on general adult psychiatry but with cover for old-age, child and adolescent and perinatal psychiatry. Developed knowledge of presentation, assessment and management of a variety of mental health conditions. Placed Emergency Detention forms and learnt about emergency sedation. Developed a key interest in psychiatry which I hope to further explore.

Queen Elizabeth University Hospital

Respiratory Medicine - 04/22 - 08/22

Cover for Respiratory medicine wards in and out-of-hours with additional cover for the acute medical receiving unit. Developed key skills around assessment and management of acutely unwell patients with appropriate escalation. Actively participated in ward rounds; taking notes and interpreting results. Learnt about the management of chest drains including flushing, drug administration and removal. Member of the adult resuscitation team.

Surgical Specialties - 12/21 - 04/22

Involved cover of inpatient Urology, Vascular and ENT at a tertiary centre hospital both in and out-of-hours. Developed my management of patients in the peri-operative period with rapid recognition of unwell patients. Gained knowledge about the management and operative side-effects of a variety of surgical conditions, with a particular focus on urological malignancies.

Gastroenterology - 08/21 - 11/21

Based on the regional liver unit with out-of-hours cover of other gastroenterology wards and acute medical receiving. First job of foundation focused on development of essential medical skills. This included clear communication, assessment of patients and appropriate escalation. Participated in ward rounds, made referrals, wrote discharge letters and documented clearly in medical notes. Learnt to perform an ascitic tap and insertion/removal of an LVP.