Some Advice Please

LegacyUser

Hey forum,

Don't normally ask for advice online but I have no one to talk to.
I'm an Intern Doctor, just about to reach the half way point of my intern year.

I'm so upset as I write this, I feel completely burned out and don't know what to do.
The job is awful and I hate every moment of it. The long hours, the complete lack of thanks and the complete chaos that I work in everyday. Plus the whole added stress of not getting paid for a large chunk of the hours that I work.
I want to quit but i feel completely trapped, I have to complete the intern year but then what?
Have I wasted 5 years in college?
Just don't know what to do.
I can't continue like this, has anyone else been in a similar situation.
If so I would really appreciate their advice.

Sorry for the rant but I really have no one to talk to about this.

Tramps Like Us

I'd try to stick it out at least for the intern year.


But my opinion is that life is too sort to do something you hate long term. Education is never a waste, I dont know what qualifications you have or whatever but it might be useful in another related area that you might like or you could go back to college

araic88

Tramps Like Us wrote: »

I'd try to stick it out at least for the intern year.

But my opinion is that life is too sort to do something you hate long term. Education is never a waste, I dont know what qualifications you have or whatever but it might be useful in another related area that you might like or you could go back to college

+1
I don't really know how this works - is it that you study for a medical degree & then choose an area you're interested in & do an internship? Do you think a different area would be less chaotic?
Would it be an option to travel & work abroad-Not every health system is like the HSE surely!
I can imagine doctors aren't really allowed "show weakness" so to speak but I'm sure you're not the only one exhausted & fed up. A ridiculous amount is expected of ye, I wouldn't last an hour! Be kind to yourself, you've gotten this far & a degree is never a waste.

iwantmydinner

A close friend chose the GP scheme as she hated hospital medicine. She's delighted with herself now.

Another girl I know is doing an ophthalmology PhD - would academia work for you?

Another solution worth exploring would be to head to Australia, the conditions are much, much better in Australian hospitals.

Best of luck with it all, I know what work burnout feels like (although I'm not a doctor) and wouldn't wish it on anyone

nc19

Do whatever you can do or need to do to become a GP asap.

Then sit back and enjoy the 60e for 3mins work and the halfday wed and weekends off


Thats the way to go. Why anyone would choose to work in a hospital for the HSE when they could have a PP is beyond me

Merkin

nc19 wrote: »

Do whatever you can do or need to do to become a GP asap.

Then sit back and enjoy the 60e for 3mins work and the halfday wed and weekends off


Thats the way to go. Why anyone would choose to work in a hospital for the HSE when they could have a PP is beyond me

You evidently know absolutely nothing whatsoever about general practice.

The rest of your career will not be like your intern year. Is there an area of medicine that interests you and that you'd like to specialise in OP?

iwantmydinner

nc19 wrote: »

Then sit back and enjoy the 60e for 3mins work and the halfday wed and weekends off

Ah here.

Ham Sambo

Regardless what profession anybody is working in at the moment if they don't like it then they should look for another path to follow, I know it is easier said than done, 5 years down the drain, family, colleagues etc, but why stay in a profession that you hate?.

I know of two friends of mine were staff nurses and they decided that they had enough of nursing (after 10 years) and decided to take a completely different career path altogether, yes you have put in 5 years, yes you have worked crazy hours with little or no thanks (from management or patients I can imagine), the obvious question is why put up with it? it's your life and you are only letting yourself down if you don't seek happiness and fulfilment. best of luck with whatever you decide to do, but remember there is always another way. Now, that's my rant over!!

naughtyfox

Hi op take a deep breath and remember that your already halfway through this year, dont let all those years go to waste! My advice would be to finish your intern year and then take a short break to figure out what it is that you want to do. I also find that when work gets really tough that it helps to have something, no matter how small, to look forward to. Your almost there, you have suceeded and got this far just dig a little deeper and finish your year and then what you do is up to you. Hope it all works out for you.

Maura74

Do not give up at the final hurdle, if it was easy everyone would be doing it. You have chosen a very demanding and worthwhile career.

Of course patients will not be thankful when they are being treated as they are worry about their own health and are obviously sick. But when they are getting better then they will be very grateful for your help in getting them there.

In UK it is NHS, at least for now, with the regime we got in at the moment that will change if they are elected again. Therefore people currently do not have to pay for treatment but if we get the same regime again people will be expected to pay for treatment and will expect more from the medical professions. Hopefully they will soon stop putting people on the Liverpool Pathway for extra money.

As another post said be kind to yourself.

MrCreosote

Hey OP, it's a tough situation and a terrible job, especially at this time of the year.

There's good advice above there. I'd add a few bits

-If you can, stick out the rest of the year, but not to the detriment of your health. You have a few more doors open to you when you complete the year. Maybe the change in January will improve things slightly?
-Start working on an exit strategy as soon as you can- GP training, locum work, overseas work, academia, total career change, whatever. If you really can't decide then book a few months off from July. Working overseas might let you know whether it's clinical medicine or just the Irish system that's grinding you down
-Be absolutely ruthless in looking after number 1. Everyone else- seniors, colleagues, HR, the so-called Union- have their own vested interests, and generally don't give a sh*t about you when the chips are down.
-And forget about disappointing family/friends/the taxpayer/people that call it a 'vocation' or whoever. If it turns out it's not for you, then it's not for you. I guarantee you the 5 years in college won't be wasted, and at the very least the intern year will be useful to look back on, if only to say that no job was ever as bad as that again.

I was in your own situation 12 years ago. It's a horrible, stressful, thankless job- nothing I've experienced since compares to it. And at least we were getting (mostly) paid. Took a few months off at the end, packed my bags and headed to NZ and didn't look back (eventually ended up in GP). The grass is greener here, although it is a long way from home.

Semele

I'm also in training OP, but in a mental health field. The problem with training of course is that you don't get a choice in certain core areas of experience. I had a six month placement over the summer that nearly killed me- I hated the work, I hated the work environment and I didn't get on with the people I worked with. I knew I wouldn't enjoy it but was surprised by how much. I ended up in tears one morning at the thought of having to go in and ended up having a week off with stress. Fortunately my course were great about it and helped me remember why I wanted to pursue the profession and that that area of work wasn't representative of the whole. I was able to see it as a necessary evil, that I had to endure to meet my competences, but that was only going to be a means to an end for me. Once qualified, I can work in the areas that interest me. It would be a shame for a negative internship experience to cloud the reasons you went into medicine in the first place- it won't be all like that!

Rocky Marciano

UnhappyDoc wrote: »

Hey forum,

Don't normally ask for advice online but I have no one to talk to.
I'm an Intern Doctor, just about to reach the half way point of my intern year.

I'm so upset as I write this, I feel completely burned out and don't know what to do.
The job is awful and I hate every moment of it. The long hours, the complete lack of thanks and the complete chaos that I work in everyday. Plus the whole added stress of not getting paid for a large chunk of the hours that I work.
I want to quit but i feel completely trapped, I have to complete the intern year but then what?
Have I wasted 5 years in college?
Just don't know what to do.
I can't continue like this, has anyone else been in a similar situation.
If so I would really appreciate their advice.

Sorry for the rant but I really have no one to talk to about this.

Hi UnhappyDoc,

I write this as a newly qualified doctor myself. First off, congratulations on passing medical school. It takes a lot of time, work and commitment, so you can feel proud at getting this far. Your 5 years were not wasted.

Stay or leave?
Unless you absolutely hate being a doctor I would encourage you to finish your internship. Then, you can use some of the money you saved to take a well deserved holiday. It can only help to get into the health services of other countries if you want to travel? You can register with the Medical Council general division and perhaps consider locum work. You can apply for a training scheme you were always interested in, do a masters and work in academia, or do charity work in the developing world. There is something out there for everyone.

If you do absolutely hate being a doctor please do not feel any shame in thinking about a career change. This does not make you a failure. You can do other rewarding things with your life, and life is too short to hold regrets.

In the hospital
Without knowing the specifics of your case ask yourself 'do your colleagues make unreasonable demands of you?'. If you are being bullied or asked to do things you shouldn't, go to your intern coordinator straight away and get them to intervene on your behalf.

If you are being overstretched the other NCHDs are probably feeling the burden too. Perhaps you and the other interns/SHOs on your team could talk to HR about getting some temporary locum SHO cover to ease the burden? A collective voice is louder than just you by yourself.

Is this something you could talk to the IMO about?

In any case, I presume you will have a January change-over? You may enjoy your new job. The first 6 months are the hardest because the learning curve is so steep at the beginning and we're heading into winter. Now you have much more hospital experience and we're on the home straight to summer.

At home
There will be days when you turn the key in your house after work and feel like the system chews you up and spits you out. The weather is dark, cold and wet. You're tired, hungry and a little drained. One tip is to have a week's supply of nice meals prepared so you can just pop one in the oven for 20 minutes after work. Boil the kettle too. A nice cuppa and some good home cooking is bliss after a stressful day.

Leaving aside that you're a doctor, you're valuable as a person. The carer needs care too.

Even if every single person forgets to say 'thank you', remember:

1. Today you helped your team, the nurses, physios, radiology department and students so they could do their work more efficiently and get home on time.
2. You charted a drug to help ease someone's pain.
3. You reassured patients. Some will feel more relaxed and hopeful where once they only had fear and uncertainty.
4. You helped save someone's life.

Social
If possible keep up your hobbies. I took up a social dance class a few months ago. For 1 hour a week no one defined me as a doctor. It was great and I enjoyed it, even if my moves are a little suspect! OK, dancing might not be your thing. Maybe you enjoy rugby, art or drama? My point is, it's easy to get stuck in a rut where all you think about every day is the medical ward. Keep yourself as fresh as possible by having some fun outside work. It could be something as simple as a hot chocolate and listening to your favourite music when you're at home. This is YOU time

In sum
Over 700 of us finished medical school last summer. Even if we don't all work in the same place we're all colleagues in the same system. All of us fall. All of us need a hand back up sometimes. Don't lose heart, don't give up on yourself. Talk to the good people in your life. They care about you and want you to be happy. You can have a good life wherever the future takes you.

GOOD LUCK.

LegacyUser

>>>I'm so upset as I write this, I feel completely burned out and don't know what to do.
The job is awful and I hate every moment of it. The long hours, the complete lack of thanks and the complete chaos that I work in everyday. Plus the whole added stress of not getting paid for a large chunk of the hours that I work.
I want to quit but i feel completely trapped, I have to complete the intern year but then what?<<<

Hey OP... You are asking for advise from someone in a similar situation? So here goes. Well I work in a totally different industry and I know nothing of your profession but I could have written that about my own job - word for word.

Basically I was in a very similar situation - working in a company that was going down the bowl - ridiculous hours - no thanks - abuse from customers for not delivering (cashflow problems meant that we often couldn't) despite my best efforts..... I was feeling depression / anxiety and usually dreaded the idea of getting up in the morning to go to work

So I had a choice. I could stick it out with the possibility of some new things happening which would turn things around or I could pack it in. I decided to stick it out. Here's what I learned:

1) Things can and do get better, and often in a very short space of time. When you are living in a world of sh*t it is hard to see the daylight, but trust me it's there and not too far away at all. On your roughest toughest day, remember that

2) Once things get better in work- you will feel much better about yourself and about life - and you will be amazed at how fast this happens. Our minds are astoundingly resilient in this regard. I thought I was a depressed burned out nervous wreck at 30YO.. but no - things turned around and I'm now happy out

3) You have a definite amount of time left until you finish up. That is a definite goal to work towards


Once you have the magic bit of paper that says you are qualified - you have options. You can do anything from charity work to TEFL teaching overseas to getting into politics to journalism to simply taking a few weeks off to get your head together. Even in medicine I would imagine there are a hundred different career paths you could follow. I once shared a house with a doc who worked for 2 weeks, then went off travelling for two weeks! Imagine living that lifestyle!

Don't jack it in now... you've come this far, stick it out. When you have the slip of paper and the world is your oyster in a few months time you will be so so glad you did - I sure as hell am!

Neyite

Rocky Marciano
Welcome to Personal Issues. We ask that posters refrain from asking the OP to contact them privately, for reasons outlined in our Charter.

Rocky Marciano

Neyite wrote: »

Rocky Marciano
Welcome to Personal Issues. We ask that posters refrain from asking the OP to contact them privately, for reasons outlined in our Charter.

That's no problem. I've edited the post to reflect that. Thanks for letting me know.