🚆 The Journey (so far)

Cape Town, South Africa

🎓 Medical School

King's College London

My time at GKT was incredible, it's been over a decade since I started as a naive 17-year-old kid and now I've been magically transformed into a 28-year-old kid. Wild. Enjoy the videos for each year of medical school - linked below

🏥 Foundation Training

South Thames Deanery

Foundation Year 1

This was my first year as a doctor. I kicked things off as an overly enthusiastic house-man arriving early and leaving late almost everyday. I learnt loads and paid my dues to the institution of medicine and developed a good foundation to kickstart the rest of my career.
I rotated through Vascular Surgery - originally the speciality I wanted to pursue but after doing the speciality I changed my mind 😬 - Emergency Medicine and Cardiology.
Loved all the rotations but would probably do things differently if I could do it over.

Foundation Year 2

I was now an experienced, jaded foundation doctor and given the title of senior house officer. I continued the theme of turning up early and leaving late and surprise surprise I continued to learn lots.
I rotated through quite medical specialities of HIV Medicine, Geriatrics and General Medicine.
Importantly I managed to sit my MRCS Part A examination and attend an ENT Taster Week which would lead to me pursuing that speciality within surgical training, but not before a Gap Yah.

🛩️ Out of Programme

Funemployment Deanery

Foundation Year 3

Now this was my first year out of training, my first gap-yah. I had gone straight from school to medical school and from medical school straight to foundation training. This was the year to get off the conveyer belt.
I had a great time for the first six months; I travelled to Switzerland, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh, Zanzibar, South Africa and Italy but unfortunately all the fun was interrupted by this new thing known as COVID. This was a largely unwelcome interruption and I didn't feel like I completely lived out my Gap Yah - perhaps this means another one is due soon.
Forced back to the UK, I spent the remainder of my time working on COVID wards until my time as a Core Surgical Trainee would begin.

🔪 Core Surgical Training

Pan-London Deanery

Core Training Year 1

It begins. Surgical training. I heard alot about what junior surgical training in London was like but that didn't matter to me. I wanted to be in the big centres, working for the best bosses and most importantly in my city around my friends and family.
I kicked things off with my first ENT rotation and I absolutely loved it. During this time I managed to do a number of solo operations including my first tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy, grommets, abscess drainage and some trauma work. It was settled - I would chose ENT as my speciality of choice.
I then rotated through Paediatric Surgery and lastly another rotation of ENT at a major trauma centre. I managed to also sit my DOHNS OSCE examination thereby becoming a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons and officially a Mister (even had it written on the theatre board as such).

Core Training Year 2

This would be the hardest year of doctoring to come. I would be stepping out of my comfort zone as a 'senior' senior house officer on my way to being a registrar. I would be applying to speciality training in one of the most competitive specialities in the most competitive city. fun.
Despite all the extra-curricular work I did, I had an enormous amount of fun on my Maxillofacial placement. I did a huge amount of operating and almost considered the speciality for around 7 minutes. The dental degree really put me off.
I sat my interviews and rotated to more ENT, where I found out my dreams had come true and I had secured a ENT training number in the prestigious North Thames.
Let the holidays begin - till this point I hadn't been away or taken any annual leave (except to revise for my interviews).

🤕 Speciality Training

North Thames Deanery

Speciality Training Year 3

This is where my real training starts. I am only six-months in (at the time of writing) and I am 100% sure this is absolutely the life. I love operating and I love ENT.

To be continued...