Contingency FM

In this episode we are again joined by Dr Shalabh Srivastava, a Senior Clinical Lecturer at Newcastle University and Renal consultant at Sunderland hospital to explore the mysterious world of academic medicine... We explore the process of getting involved in research, including how to find a good supervisor, how to overcome set-backs and where to look for funding and opportunities. 

Shalabh is a goldmine of good advice, with significant experience across lab-based and clinical research, so if you are considering looking into academic medicine, you won't be disappointed!

We are joined today by Dr Shalabh Srivastava, a renal consultant at Sunderland Hospital and Senior Clinical Lecturer at Newcastle University. In this episode we ask Shalabh about how he came into renal medicine (after working with a medical-world celebrity!) and why he still loves it!

Stay tuned for the future of renal medicine and some opportunities you probably didn't know existed.

Should I take an F3 year? What options are even out there? How can I choose? 

If you've asked any of these questions, this episode may be for you! In this 4th episode of our mini series we take a look at what we all did for our F3 (and F4) years, taking an honest and open look at the highlights and drawbacks in all aspects of life.

Matthew and Phil have a chat with Dr Naomi Chamberlin (Respiratory Consultant, Sunderland Hospital) to find out what the best and most challenging bits are about this specialty. Stay tuned to hear why respiratory is such a varied and friendly place to work, musings on time travel and how Naomi helped Phil to change his life as a medical student.

Abi and Phil are joined by Mrs Cathy Emerson (Obstetrician, Sunderland Hospital), to chat about why O&G is such a diverse and rewarding specialty. Stay tuned for some great advice on reflection and avoiding despair when the worst happens, and how to learn from our successes too!

In the next few episodes we chat about all the things we wish we had been told before starting F1. In this episode, we focus on succeeding in F1. Stay tuned for advice on how to pass ARCP and how to learn efficiently & effectively on a busy job.

During COVID-19, most hospitals are stopping visiting. Phone conversations, which are part of the normal job are now even more common and more important. Breaking bad news is a difficult skill – today we unpack a telephone conversation that must discuss some bad news and dissect what is done well and what could be improved. Stay tuned for bloopers and some common errors made when discussing sensitive topics over the phone!

This episode can be listened to as stand-alone; however there is also an accompanying workbook, hosted at: http://www.mediafire.com/folder/2w5eqke9s56s3/Contingency_FM

You will need:

· Communication workbook

· Communication workbook answers

· Breaking Bad News podcast (and additionally we have attached the original conversation if you want to listen to that uninterrupted).

Instructions:

The workbook should guide you through the activity and tell you when to listen to the podcast.

In this episode, Matt, Phil and Abi sit down with Chris Tiplady (former Director of Medical Education at Northumbria NHS Foundation Trust, Haematologist, ILM Executive Coach and Mentor & Director of Undergraduate Clinical Studies for the University of Sunderland). Chris has tons of experience working with doctors all along the spectrum of finding work difficult. We use some real life examples and common questions we've had over the last few years to chat through how best to get help at times when we find ourselves struggling.

Stay tuned for advice on looking out for your friends, how best to exception report, and how we can often miss the signs that we aren't doing as well as we might think...

We are joined by Dr Chris Tiplady (Consultant Haematologist at Northumbria NHS Foundation Trust) to get the low down on life in haematology, plus finding out the best way to discuss a patient with a haematologist. Stay tuned for some myth busting, some really practical tips and a narrowly avoided bad accent...

In this episode, we are joined by Dr Mike Sen, a COTE reg at Sunderland to discuss fluids. We look at three (well, technically five...) important questions to ask about fluid prescribing.

1)  Does the patient need fluids?

2) What kind of fluids should the patient have, through which route?

3) How much and how fast?

Stay tuned for yet more bad (actual) dad jokes, a few personal lessons we have learned along the way and how we pick apart the nuanced topic that is fluid prescribing.

We are joined today by Mr Yusuf Michla, (orthopaedic surgeon, Sunderland hospital) to chat about the highlights and challenges of a life in surgery, plus some valuable advice for anyone doing a rotation in surgery. Stay tuned to hear about the craziest operation Yusuf has ever seen, and some helpful tips for fighting wild mutant animals.

In today's episode, we grill Dr Mark Carpenter, ITU consultant at Sunderland hospital and newly appointed Sub-Dean for the Wear Base unit at Newcastle University. We get the low-down on why ITU is an awesome specialty, and some really helpful advice addressing any concerns about - and how to make the most of - an ITU rotation. Stay tuned for horse-phobias and more bad accents...

We chat all things nursing with Alison Blake (former ward manager) and Julie Stewart (former staff nurse). Stay tuned to hear how to best make friends with nurses, what on earth is 'banding' and why it is important (not colorectal surgery related...); and why we should trust a nurses 'waters'?

 There are additional written resources available (see: Appendix 2 - advice from nurses) on the MLE for Newcastle students or available for download at http://www.mediafire.com/folder/2w5eqke9s56s3/Contingency_FM.

Today we are joined by Dr Andy Mellon, Sunderland Paediatrician and Sub-Dean for the Wear base-unit at Newcastle university. Stay tuned for some good all round life advice for thinking about your future career choice, how to make the most of a paediatric rotation and what Andy would have to be if he was a kitchen utensil.

In this episode we sit down with Dr Mickey Jachuck, a cardiologist at South Tyneside Hospital. Stay tuned to hear if Phil will understand the term 'joke', some of the highlights of life in cardiology and some key tips for juniors rotating into the specialty.

In this final episode of the 3-part miniseries on on-call tasks, we discuss various common on-call tasks you may need to manage out of hours and give our tips and tricks to accomplishing these safely and effectively. 

This episode can be listened to as stand-alone; however there is also an accompanying workbook and powerpoint, hosted at: http://www.mediafire.com/folder/2w5eqke9s56s3/Contingency_FM or, for Newcastle medical students, on the MLE under 5th year/HBP medicine/Wear/Contingency FM

You will need: 

• On-call tasks workbook 
• On-call tasks answers powerpoint 
• On-call tasks podcast 

Instructions: 

Work through the on-call tasks workbook, then listen to the podcast alongside the powerpoint to go through the answers.

In this second of a 3-part miniseries on on-call tasks, we give you a virtual handover and give you a chance to practice prioritising tasks before talking through how we would go about prioritising, with our rationale and discussion about further information we may want to ask. 

This episode can be listened to as stand-alone; however you may find it beneficial to engage with the handover activity. 

You will need: 

• Paper and a pen
• Handover podcast 

Instructions: 

Listen to the podcast, and take the handover as you would if you were on call. Pause to think what other questions you would like to ask, or what further information you need to know, then decide in what order you will approach these jobs and why. Listen to the rest of the podcast to get our take on this

In the next 3 episodes, we take you through some of the skills and activities that are helpful to develop whilst managing the on-call environment. In this podcast, we take you through a virtual seminar where we discuss methods of effective prioritisation. 

This episode can be listened to as stand-alone; however there is also an accompanying workbook, hosted at: http://www.mediafire.com/folder/2w5eqke9s56s3/Contingency_FM or, for Newcastle medical students, on the MLE under 5th year/HBP medicine/Wear/Contingency FM

You will need 

• Prioritisation introduction powerpoint 
• Prioritisation podcast 

Instructions: 

Listen to the prioritisation podcast while looking through the ‘prioritisation introduction’ PowerPoint (we will tell you when to change the slides on the podcast) 

1. Listen to the ‘handover of tasks’ podcast and create your jobs list 
2. Work through your tasks in the ‘prioritisation task workbook’ 
3. Listen to the ‘answers to tasks’ podcast while looking through the accompanying ‘answers to task’ podcast

Talking about death seems often to be a taboo in society. Yet, as doctors, we will all deal with death and dying on a regular basis – both in our personal lives and in our professional lives; and often  those two areas seem to merge. We talk about our own experiences of death and dying – both within the job, and how death and dying of friends and family has impacted on our work. 

There are no additional resources attached to this episode.

Prescribing can feel pretty complicated when it comes to End of Life care. We take you through a virtual seminar where we discuss some of the common treatments for different symptoms experienced by patients in their last days. 

This episode can be listened to as stand-alone; however there is an accompanying powerpoint and workbook, hosted at: http://www.mediafire.com/folder/2w5eqke9s56s3/Contingency_FM or, for Newcastle medical students, on the MLE under 5th year/HBP medicine/Wear/Contingency FM

You will need 

• End of life care – palliative prescribing questions document 
• End of life care – palliative prescribing powerpoint 
• End of life prescribing podcast 

Instructions: 

Work through the palliative prescribing questions document and then listen to the podcast while looking through the PowerPoint and this will explain the answers.

All doctors will make mistakes from time to time, despite our best intentions. The important thing is that we learn from these and share them so others can learn too. We discuss some of the mistakes we have made since qualifying, why these happened and how we dealt with these.

In this episode, we provide some examples of conversations where a doctor explores whether a patient has capacity. If listening to this without the workbook, consider whether the patient has capacity, and how the doctor is exploring this well, and in what ways it could be improved. 

This episode can be listened to as stand-alone; however there is also an accompanying workbook, hosted at: http://www.mediafire.com/folder/2w5eqke9s56s3/Contingency_FM or, for Newcastle medical students, on the MLE under 5th year/HBP medicine/Wear/Contingency FM

You will need 

• Capacity and consent workbook 
• Blank DOLS form 
• Answers to the capacity and consent workbook 
• Capacity podcast (to listen to each capacity assessment)

Instructions: 

The workbook talks you through the activity and will tell you when to fill in the DOLS form and when to listen to the podcast.

In this episode, we talk through various examples of times that we have had to respond to sick patients and how we have escalated care. We discuss how we felt when facing very sick patients and what we would do differently now if faced with the same situation. 

There are no additional resources attached to this episode.

Welcome to Contingency FM, a podcast produced by teaching fellows at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust.

This podcast is endorsed by Newcastle University and the Northern Foundation School.

This podcast is aimed at final year medical students and junior doctors, to support key parts of practice, including dealing with death and dying, on-call shifts and prioritisation.

A second season will consist of interviews with consultants and specialists, with a joint focus on careers advice and practical advice for moving into jobs in specific specialties.

A guide to using this podcast can be found at: http://www.mediafire.com/folder/2w5eqke9s56s3/Contingency_FM or, for Newcastle medical students, on the MLE under 5th year/HBP medicine/Wear/Contingency FM