WICM – FICMLearning

Music, the ICU and me!

Liz Thomas

I have sung in choirs since I was 10 years old. I remember my first concert – singing treble in some choruses of Messiah with the senior school choir, from that concert on I realised that singing was important to me. I considered a career as a professional musician, but my mother pointed out to me I didn’t really practice enough, it was a very tough field to get work in and I could probably get a lot of enjoyment from music as a hobby with income from a different career. So, I followed her advice and went to medical school.

Top Tips for Exam Revision from a Trainee ACCP

Stevie Park

When I first started my trainee ACCP journey, I had not idea what was in store for me. I felt pretty confident as an experienced critical care nurse and I have always said some of my top qualities are being organised and good at time management. Then came the time to start preparing for our end of year OSCE and MCQ exam.

I Hate This Part

Hafsa Abdulle

My mind is consumed with thoughts that I am unable to filter appropriately without entering a rabbit hole that I can’t see an end to. I think I’m losing it…The ability to make small talk has completely disappeared.

Why do I mentor?

Liz Thomas

Hello! I’m Liz Thomas – a consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care medicine and I am part of the team running FICM Thrive – the faculty’s new mentoring scheme.

FY1 Meets Intensive Care…in a Pandemic

Sarafina Bailey

I think I speak for myself and fellow doctors who graduated in 2020, when I say “it was not what we were expecting”! My graduation from St George’s Medical School after six years of studying there consisted of me watching an online ceremony in my living room while the world wrestled with rising coronavirus cases. There I was on 25.06.21 no cap or gown, no celebration with my classmates or tutors but somehow ready to start working as an F1 doctor with the added realisation of having to work in a pandemic and on intensive care for four months.

Putting Pen to Paper

Sneha Narayan

My name is Sneha and I’m currently a CT3 in ACCS – Acute Medicine, having worked in Intensive care and Anaesthetics during the first wave of the pandemic last year. I studied in London and trained in Southampton before moving to Hertfordshire for my core training. Outside of medicine my passion has always been in the arts, ever since I was a young girl and learnt various art forms from my Grandmother. Ever since then, art has become my escape and my solace outside of my day job.

Words from our WICMEL fellows Part 1

Caroline Ferguson
Debbie Kerr

We’re thrilled to be able to run WICMEL again for 2021 (application window closes 30 May.) We had 4 fabulous WICMEL fellows from our 2019 programme and we wanted to share their thoughts on the programme. In part one we’ll hear from Dr Caroline Ferguson and Dr Debbie Kerr.

From Intensive Care to Aviation Medicine

Vanesa Garnelo Rey

My passion for aviation was born when I was little. Every August I used to watch a magnificent Harrier display in the North West Coast of Spain where I grew up. Standing next to my dad with ear defenders, I said ‘Dad, that is so cool! How do they do that’? But a TV cartoon series called ‘Once upon a time life’ captivated an entire generation of children who would later become doctors including myself.

Alternative Career Paths in ICM

Jacqueline McCarthy

In the earlier stages of my training, I disliked the discomfort I felt when patients deteriorated to a level beyond my skill set. The ICM doctors who arrived at such times clutching bags of impressive sounding drugs and equipment before whipping them away with an air of proficiency impressed me. I applied for ACCS training, hoping to join their ranks. Vocalising an interest in ICM prompted a range of responses from colleagues. “Are you sure?”….

Being a Dual EM & ICM trainee…My Experience

Mishti Oberoi

Night 1… 3 AM:

I am standing in one of the resuscitation bays of the emergency department holding a patient’s airway open while pre-oxygenating them, as we are running through the RSI checklist…

Coroner’s Court – My Experiences of Giving Evidence

Liz Thomas

We are very lucky to have a well developed and longstanding coronial service – I’ve just been listening to the FICM podcast with Derek Winter and have found out it can be dated back to at least 1194. Something not covered in the excellent podcast is how it feels to be in the stand – giving evidence, so here is a blog on my experiences.

WICM: Inspiring Careers in Critical Care – Dr Laura Allan

Jasmine Medhora
Laura Allan

Introduction from the interviewer:

My time working in Intensive Care as an ACCS-EM trainee was one of the most influential periods of my career so far. I worked with a truly incredible team. During the lockdown period, I was able to reflect on my time in Intensive Care and my role as a woman in medicine. As part of this, I approached eight women in the Intensive Care team to share their inspiration and their perspective. It was a privilege to hear their stories. Thank you to WICM for this platform and to the women you will read about, for their time and their words.

Dr Jasmine Medhora

Laura Allan, Emergency Medicine and Intensive Care Medicine Registrar

WICM: Inspiring Careers in Critical Care – Dr Roxy Bloomfield

Jasmine Medhora
Roxy Bloomfield

Introduction from the interviewer:

Dr Jasmine Medhora

Roxy Bloomfield, Consultant in Anaesthesia, Intensive Care, Prehospital and Retrieval Medicine

Accidental Leadership

Liz Thomas

Were you the person who ended up leading a cardiac arrest on the ward? Did you stumble upon a car crash in the street and had to take control? Is there an area of your career you didn’t expect to have? Have you ever found yourself leading when you didn’t expect to?

WICM: Inspiring Careers in Critical Care – Dr Deborah Owen

Jasmine Medhora
Deborah Owen

Introduction from the interviewer:

Dr Jasmine Medhora

Dr Deborah Owen, Intensive Care Medicine Registrar

WICM: Inspiring Careers in Critical Care – Dr Caroline Lacey

Jasmine Medhora
Caroline Lacey

Introduction from the interviewer:

Dr Jasmine Medhora

Dr Caroline Lacey, Intensive Care Medicine Registrar

WICM: Inspiring Careers in Critical Care – Alice Coulson

Jasmine Medhora
Alice Coulson

Introduction from the interviewer:

Dr Jasmine Medhora

Alice Coulson, Trainee Advanced Critical Care Practitioner

WICM: Inspiring Careers in Critical Care – Dr Louise Hartley

Jasmine Medhora
Louise Hartley

Introduction from the interviewer:

Dr Jasmine Medhora

Dr Louise Hartley, Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine

WICM: Inspiring Careers in Critical Care – Nicola Clark

Jasmine Medhora
Nicola Clark

Introduction from the interviewer:

Dr Jasmine Medhora

Nicola Clark, Physician’s Associate, Intensive Care

WICM: Inspiring Careers in Critical Care – Dr Joanna Thirsk

Jasmine Medhora
Joanna Thirsk

Introduction from the interviewer:

Dr Jasmine Medhora

Dr Joanna Thirsk, Anaesthetics and Intensive Care Medicine Registrar

Being a Trainee and a Chair during COVID-19

Sally El-Ghazali

It has been an odd few months… when I initially planned to write this blog it I planned to write about something somewhat different – but then along came COVID-19…

October – New Academic Year and A New WICM Chair

Liz Thomas

New academic year – new blog post!

Hello – I’m Liz Thomas – a consultant in intensive care medicine and anaesthesia and I am delighted to have taken over the role of Chair of the WICM committee from Dr Rosie Baruah. I have been on the WICM committee for almost 12 months.

Bias and Change

Dr David Baglow

In this blog, David describes bias and how it can have a profound effect on people’s lives. Implicit or unconscious bias may be described as attitudes that affect our understanding, perceptions, actions, and decisions without us having an awareness of their effect on us.

Coffee afternoons, baby yoga and a masters?

Samantha Batt-Rawden

As a dual trainee who had never jumped off the training treadmill, I was looking forward to my maternity leave. I had pictured long coffee afternoons with other new mothers, taking up baking and trying my hand at baby yoga. Heck, I had thought I was going to be so refreshed by what I thought would be a break I might even sign up to do a part-time Masters in my ‘time off’.

Planning for an invisible enemy

Sarah Marsh

Back at the start of the year, we all watched the news with curiosity about a place called Wuhan, and a new coronavirus that was ravaging the city. We continued to watch with further interest as it made its way towards Europe.

Finding a consultant post: Why district general ICM was the right choice for me

Debbie Kerr

The final years of training can be somewhat of an emotional roller-coaster – you’re excited to finally see the ‘reward’ for all those years of hard work, but anxious about taking on a new post and responsibilities. Perhaps one of the more difficult considerations is where you want to work as a consultant, and how this will influence your career progression after training… it certainly was for me! In this blog, I wanted to share my thoughts about finding a consultant post, and why becoming a district general ICU consultant was the right choice for me.

The WICM 10 – Pt. 2

Kate Flavin, Sarah Marsh, Liz Thomas, Christine Watson, Danny Bryden

Welcome to Part 2 of January’s WICM Blog .

The WICM 10 – Pt. 1

Rosie Baruah, Sammy Batt Rawden, Stephanie Cattlin, Nish Desai, Ingi Elsayed

In order to commemorate FICM’s 10^th Anniversary, WICM have produced a collaborative blog celebrating 10 role models of 10 WICM members.

Speaking at a meeting

Rosie Baruah

In September I had the experience of speaking at 3 meetings in 3 weeks. I find speaking at meetings quite daunting and so I’ve put together 12 points as a ‘note to self’ to remind myself of what works for me.

The long and winding road….

Alison Pittard

Who’s going to stop me!?

Freddie Mercury is singing “I’m going slightly mad….” in my ear! He’s been at it all morning. I keep saying “yes” when I know I shouldn’t. My OCD is struggling to keep up with my diary. So how did I end up here?

Time to Change!

Nish Desai

The time has come; Striking the Balance our first ever WICM meeting on 27 September 2019, on a rather wet Friday at the Royal College of Anaesthetists. In all the excitement leading up to the event, I recall speaking to Lucy Rowan at the Faculty the day before to discuss the day and shared my rather nervous feelings about writing this blog.

New Beginnings

Stephanie Cattlin

‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’
Lao Yzu

Maternity Leave And Me, Part 2

Sarah Marsh

This time my maternity leave was quite different…

Maternity Leave And Me, Part 1

Sarah Marsh

As I write this, the baby is finally sleeping upstairs and I have a small window before setting off for the school and nursery run. Ah, the peace and quiet.

Being Male in Medicine – Changing Social Gender-Based Expectations

Rosie Baurah & Mark Hughes

On the 2^nd of June I had the pleasure of attending the inaugural Woman In Surgery Scottish Meeting at the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh. The programme was packed full of enthusiastic and informative speakers – and one of them, Mr Mark Hughes, an ST8 in neurosurgery who I have the privilege to work with at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, also happened to be male!

This Is What A Scientist Looks Like

Charlotte Summers

Those of you familiar using social media may have seen #thisiswhatascientistlookslike, which aims to highlight the diversity of the people working in science, and break down the stereotypes many of us have regarding scientists.

Gender bias in Critical Care nursing

Rosie Baruah

I’ve written a blog on implicit gender bias for WICM, focusing on the problems female doctors can face as a result of the implicit bias that doctor = man, I thought it might be interesting to look at nursing, where there is a strong implicit assumption that nurse = female…

How to Write a Textbook

Katie Flavin

Whilst revising for the Final FFICM viva, I found myself rather frustrated with the lack of suitable material to assist and direct my revision. I promised myself (perhaps rather foolishly) that, should I pass the FFICM on my first attempt, I would make it my mission to publish an SOE revision text book.

ICM and Aerospace Medicine

Rochell Velho

Code Red

The intercom crackled and it became difficult to decipher the words on the other end of the line. The Flight Director informed me as the Chief Medical officer that there was a medical emergency.

Neurocritical Care – why I love what I do and succession planning!

Manni Wariach

After two amazing years at Southampton Neuro ICU and 50,000 miles on the clock, I am moving back to London to be closer to my girls. Thinking about succession planning for my post has allowed me to enthuse to the Wessex ICM trainees about how rewarding my job has been here. So why should they consider applying for my job?

The Power of Social Media

Samantha Batt-Rawden

It is probably not an exaggeration to say that social media was a lifeline for me whilst on maternity leave.

Returning to Work

Rosie Baruah

There is increased awareness amongst the medical royal colleges of the challenges of returning to work after a long period away, and the need for this to be a structured, managed process. The Faculty is developing its own Return to Work (RTW) guidance, which will be a synthesis of the guidance provided by its constituent colleges.