Catholic Medical Quarterly Volume 74(4) Nov 2024
My first day as a doctor
Dr Adrian Treloar
August
1st was 40 years since my (and my wife Josephine’s) first day as a doctor
in the NHS! Here’s what I remember of that day.
It was a bright sunny summers day. Due to start at 9am, I was bleeped at 8..40am and asked to come urgently to A+E and admit an acute MI. A thirty something man with central chest pain, going down his left arm. He was cold and sweaty. He has already had bypass surgery. It turned out that his wife was one of my new ward sisters! As I clerked him the sun poured in through the window of A+E. Sweat poured off my brow. I was terrified.
I clerked him gave morphine (as we did in those days) and sorted him out. A short time later he had vanished and was moved to ITU. I reviewed him and he did fine. I learnt something important from that experience. He was moved by nursing staff who knew what to do and were good team members. They supported me even though I did not see what they did or how they did it. I realised I was part of a system that can (if we allow it to and encourage it to) can work well to the benefit of the patient.
Some time later I asked his wife the ward sister how I did. I asked if she realised that I was utterly terrified? “Well” she replied, “It was hot and sweaty in the cubicle, but when I saw the sweat from your brow making your clinical note paper soggy, I realised that you were very scared.” “You did ok” she added. It was the start of a very wonderful and happy career in medicine. One in which I have so often relied upon team members and colleagues, including truly wonderful and supportive colleagues in the CMA. You have helped to develop and deepen my faith over many years of charitable support.