Induction day (Wednesday)

On the day that the new batch of doctors starts in a new hospital, we all have an induction day. This is where things like our criminal records and hepatitis status are checked, we get given our contracts of employment, our ID badges and passcodes to various parts of the hospital. It’s also an opportunity for the trust to get various representatives to give us talks. This means we get lectures on things like how to wash our hands, what to do if there’s a fire, how to prescribe medications etc… etc…

I fucking hate inductions.

In theory, they sound really useful, but the reality is that they are a complete nightmare. Today’s was possibly the worst one I’ve ever been to. Because of MMC, there was an unusually large proportion of doctors from outside the region who’d never worked in the trust before. The hospital admin staff were underprepared and understaffed and every little thing took fucking ages. The queues for registration, for occupational health, for ID badges and for parking permits were all huge. I spent the morning in various hot, stuffy rooms just twiddling my thumbs. I arrived promptly at 08:00 like I was meant to and by about 11:30, I think I’d lost the will to live.

The afternoon was better though. This was the introduction to the anaesthetics department where we were told where we’ll be working, who we’ll be working with and what will be expected of us. We got shown how the anaesthetic machine works (which is helpful to know, I guess) and given a pair of theatre shoes (mine are a very cool black) and keys for individual lockers. We got told about log-books and certifications and loads of other stuff that I won’t bore you with. I hadn’t slept well last night and it was a lot to take in, but it seems that I’m going to be very well looked after.

I’m really looking forward to tomorrow, which will be my first day in theatres. I wonder how long it’ll be before they let me loose with the anaesthetic drugs…