So I ended up in… 

We’ve all heard stories of the unlucky ones finding themselves 10 from the bottom when it came to the PIA ranking employed last year; number 8946 may not be quite the same, but did land me in Scunthorpe in the North-East, as someone brought up in the South-West with hopes to stay working in London where I had studied for six years. When it came to August, I was apprehensive about moving and starting work somewhere completely unknown, but also somewhere with an openly questionable reputation at the bottom of my list, offering a set of jobs ranked lower than my 100th choice. 

I had tried to stay positive throughout the celebrations of finishing medical school, and was lucky I had friends who had also landed in this area of the country. Needless to say, I still possessed a sense of anxiousness and dread at the prospect of the next two years, and I questioned if I would enjoy or learn what I had hoped I would when thinking about foundation training at the end of my clinical medical school years. I had worked hard throughout my studies, and felt disheartened that I had lost autonomy and choice over the specialties I’d be exposed to and where I could enjoy working at this stage of my life. 

Questions around quality of training, increased responsibilities in a rural DGH and distance from friends and family remained. I didn’t know what to expect, and whether I should defer my place. Soon the time to start life as a foundation doctor came around, and the hustle and bustle of work commenced, with new faces, knowledge and experiences attached. Sitting here now, eight months later, the experiences I’ve had are those I could never have predicted, and I hope are those that will make me a better doctor in the long run. 

I was recently invited to talk to outgoing final years at my old medical school about the experience of being placed somewhere unexpected for training. In preparing what I was going to say, it naturally involved reflection on what I have learned, done and achieved in the time since starting. I was surprised at how many positives I could muster, and how much I have managed to do (alongside my colleagues) at a placement I had thought initially would offer very little. I hope these reflections offer comfort to others who might similarly find themselves unlucky with this year’s allocation, or resonate with some students as it did with my medical school peers. In some way it has comforted me also, reminding me that positives and opportunities do exist wherever you go looking for them. 

Firstly, the friends I’ve made here have become invaluable since starting work, and the camaraderie is greater than could be expected. Given the random system of allocation, it has truly created a mixed group and brought together a lot of people who are not from the area or didn’t initially want to be placed here. As a result everyone has been keen to make friends and help each other with getting to know different departments and rotations, and the sense of unity and support is great. Notably, the small scale of my hospital has meant I’ve come to know most of the registrars and trainees also, which has made me feel more comfortable asking questions and for help, both on shifts and in terms of extra-curricular portfolio opportunities. 

This allocation has also enabled me to explore a new area of the country, with more coastline or countryside than London could ever provide. Dare I also mention cheaper rent? It’s likely wherever you are placed, the nearest city or hub won’t be too far away. There have been plenty of opportunities to continue sports and hobbies I enjoyed at medical school in this new region, and an opportunity to enjoy a slightly slower pace of life. I have been intentional to take time for things outside of work and use my days off wisely – if things do feel difficult, annual leave will always exist, and you can always use it however you’d like. 

Research and teaching are the last aspects I was worried about when moving to a smaller satellite hospital, as aspects I wanted to incorporate into my future career. However, despite not being a massive research centre, there are still clinical trials running and projects underway at our small DGH. Sometimes it just takes identifying and asking one academic registrar to be involved, or initiating your own project and reaching out for support from a senior you trust. There are many medical students around to teach and who are receptive to teaching; in fact, there is more untapped opportunity to teach and mentor than there might be at a larger teaching hospital, and as new F1 trainees here, we’ve learned to create the opportunities where there don’t seem to be many. Overall, I do feel there have been times I’ve had greater responsibility and expectation of me – be that good or bad – than an F1 might be afforded elsewhere. This has served however to develop my non-technical skills and confidence, within an F1 learning curve which will be steep wherever you end up. All F1 experiences will be different, there will be highs, lows and compromises in all departments and hospitals, but ultimately the experience at the end of these two short years is what you make of it. 

Dr Immy Stringer

F1, Yorkshire and Humber Foundation School

All previous HOFP articles can be found on on our HOFP webpage