Over half a year ago has swung by since my last post and I find myself writing this from Melbourne… a lot has changed!
I had a wonderful 5 months in Brisbane and made some great friends - ones that at the time I don't think I realised how lucky I was to have. I had settled in pretty instantly and the only tiny thing I could complain about was the crazy Queensland weather. It was almost impossibly hot in the summer! Workwise I began to get to grips with Australian healthcare and learn the differences… from the dosage of Aspirin (75mg) to the non-existence of cyclizine (whaaat?!) to the regular usage of VBGs rather than ABGs (again whaaaat?!?!) Another big factor was the existence of private healthcare - yes it's great when you can free up a bed but it's actually a lot of hassle to get a private facility to accept your patient! Disjointed care also makes records extremely hard to keep accurate… there are always pluses and minuses I guess!
Whilst I didn't love being an orthopaedic ward monkey for the initial 6 weeks I was fortunate enough to work with some wonderful colleagues who really did their best to help me settle in and answer my cultural questions…"what does too easy mean?!". The crazy work hours were offset by coffee breaks in what I'm sure will be the snazziest doctors' lounge I will ever see, and by the kindness of colleagues and patients. Like the first I saw on day one "you're a pommy too!" to the countless ones I saw in outpatients who would put up with the long pauses whilst we waited to confirm plans with the registrars!
Moving on to the ED was an excellent learning curve for me. Having never worked in emergency I relished being the first to take a history, stitch the occasional laceration and help in resus. The shift work was tiring - sometimes I would even go to badminton after a nightshift - sleeping in 30degree + heat was impossible anyway! - but the learning was great. I loved it but don't think in the long run I could hack that lifestyle! The dept was also brimming with British ED trainees who had clearly made an easy decision to swap NHS A&E for Aussie well-staffed ED that even sometimes had an empty waiting room would you believe?!
Then in December came a surprise stroke of luck. One of the hospitals I had previously been in contact with in Melbourne told me they had medical training positions (like CMT) that I was eligible to apply for. After a telephone interview and a bit of kerfuffle as I needed to be "released" from a contract I had already signed with an ED department in suburban Victoria I rejigged my plans to work at the Austin/Northern Hospitals as a medical trainee. Swanky as!
In January my contract in Brisbane ended and I popped back home to cool down for a few weeks…
In that time (it feels like ages ago now) I caught up with friends and family - I guess it felt like I had just been on a holiday! I also interviewed for jobs at home since I had applied back in November with no intention of taking anything I was offered. It was a good experience nonetheless and I'm grateful to those who pushed me to go. I did get a post in London but knew immediately I wouldn't take it what with the training post in Melbourne.
In February I moved to Melbourne - the world's so called most liveable city and one I had instantly fallen in love with the last time I had been… whilst as a final year student en route to my elective in NZ. It's funny though, as soon as I landed I felt a bit of an emptiness. There was much more adjusting than I had expected although really Melbourne is far closer to a European lifestyle I think than Brisbane. I had a new flatmate, a new flat, had to find a car, (luckily a friend's friends were selling!) as well as the new job. The job I think was the biggest issue... to make it really difficult my first post involved working in different wards pretty much every 1 - 3 weeks and across 3 different sites. Working with so many different people and different environments was a challenge though I found colleagues on the whole to be more accommodating / less surprised at my accent than in Queensland.
Now into my 2nd "term" I am finally au fait with the computer system, how to get about without googlemaps and how to page without annoying people… this Friday I have to present for the first time here and I think though I loathe presenting, it'll be good for me.
My Mum and my sis actually just left 3 days ago. We had two weeks together whilst I was on annual leave and it was only when they left I suddenly realised how much I will always miss them if I'm here. There are many perks to being on this sunny continent, and now that I have met someone here also it makes it all the more difficult to try to work out what and where the future holds… but as always only time knows the answers!
