The start of something new

Standing in Queen Square outside the Institute of Neurology.

Today I began my Neurology rotation at University College London (UCL) Queen Square Institute of Neurology. This is my seventh rotation as a sixth-year medical student. 

The day started with an appointment to collect my UCL ID. Once I received my ID, I met the Administrative Officer I had been in communication with. We talked for a bit. She gave me a tour of Queen Square, where all the Neurology clinics are located, and answered any questions I had about the placement. 

I found out this will be quite different from my previous rotations. Here at UCL, the program is fairly unstructured. This gives me the advantage of making my own timetable. Not only do I have the opportunity to attend clinical ward rounds, clinical meetings, and outpatient clinics, as a student of UCL I can also attend lectures and teachings. 

For the next four weeks, I have been assigned to the Acute Brain Injury Unit (ABIU)/Rehab firm. Patients on this ward have extremely long hospital stays, I am talking months, while they recover from an acute brain injury. Sometimes, these patients never return to who they were before the injury and this completely changes the lives of both the patient and their families. 

In the morning, I attended ward rounds with the doctors. 

After lunch, I participated in the Multidisciplinary team meeting. The team consisted of the Rehab Consultant, an Occupational Therapist, a Language & Speech Therapist, a Clinical Psychologist, one of the doctors from the ward this morning, and myself. We met virtually with teams from other hospitals to discuss the possibility of their patients being admitted to the Rehab unit for treatment. We discussed 5 patients and at the end of each patient, a decision was made about whether or not the patient met the criteria to be admitted to our hospital. If yes, the patient would be added to our waiting list. If not, the patient would not be added to our waiting list and other arrangements needed to be made.

This is where I was a little shocked. I didn't realise that the demand for rehabilitation so greatly outweighed the facilities and services available. Hearing this, makes me want to work even harder to achieve my goal of becoming a doctor and serving those in need. 

The day was long, but I am eagerly anticipating what the next 4 weeks in London will bring!