Sergeant Wilko
@sergeantwilko.bsky.social
Bad cyclist, average doctor, really really good at crosswords. Not a sergeant.
Anaesthetics/ICM/Sustainability.
All views strictly my own.
Anaesthetics/ICM/Sustainability.
All views strictly my own.
Was it a last resort to strike the weekend before Christmas? No, absolutely it was not. Offer was made to extend the mandate and strike in January.
December 17, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Was it a last resort to strike the weekend before Christmas? No, absolutely it was not. Offer was made to extend the mandate and strike in January.
The BMA was given the option to extend the mandate & strike in Jan….why they have chosen not to do this, I cannot quite comprehend.
December 17, 2025 at 1:43 PM
The BMA was given the option to extend the mandate & strike in Jan….why they have chosen not to do this, I cannot quite comprehend.
13 times consultants & nursing colleagues have supported these strikes. Striking the weekend before Christmas is not appreciated, I can assure you. A view I’m sure will be mirrored by patients who end up stuck in hospital over Christmas.
December 17, 2025 at 1:43 PM
13 times consultants & nursing colleagues have supported these strikes. Striking the weekend before Christmas is not appreciated, I can assure you. A view I’m sure will be mirrored by patients who end up stuck in hospital over Christmas.
Trust grade posts won’t all disappear-they are dictated by local workforce need and have proliferated as training post numbers have stalled and residents have been stuck in limbo.
December 11, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Trust grade posts won’t all disappear-they are dictated by local workforce need and have proliferated as training post numbers have stalled and residents have been stuck in limbo.
Ok thanks. I agree permanent uplifts in training numbers are required. People won’t be sacked, though-Trust grades are usually fixed term contracts which would be worked & then another job would need to be applied for. Difference being that job could be a training post for many more.
December 11, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Ok thanks. I agree permanent uplifts in training numbers are required. People won’t be sacked, though-Trust grades are usually fixed term contracts which would be worked & then another job would need to be applied for. Difference being that job could be a training post for many more.
What’s being offered is a big increase. How many extra posts would be enough in your opinion?
December 11, 2025 at 6:23 AM
What’s being offered is a big increase. How many extra posts would be enough in your opinion?
Eh? Temporary training number? As opposed to what-run through training? That is set by individual colleges and the GMC when CCT programs are agreed. The trust grade residents in my department are waiting to get training numbers they haven’t yet been able to secure!
December 11, 2025 at 6:23 AM
Eh? Temporary training number? As opposed to what-run through training? That is set by individual colleges and the GMC when CCT programs are agreed. The trust grade residents in my department are waiting to get training numbers they haven’t yet been able to secure!
Difficulty securing a training number is very stressful and (imo) largely unnecessary. Been there, done that, don’t wish it on anyone. This will help with that.
December 10, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Difficulty securing a training number is very stressful and (imo) largely unnecessary. Been there, done that, don’t wish it on anyone. This will help with that.
How many extra jobs do you think would be enough? Is there a consensus amongst residents?
December 10, 2025 at 9:23 PM
How many extra jobs do you think would be enough? Is there a consensus amongst residents?
Stingy propofol given slowly with metaraminol. Usually it’s unstable patients, often outside theatres. Everything else requires my presence for longer than I’ve probably got!
December 9, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Stingy propofol given slowly with metaraminol. Usually it’s unstable patients, often outside theatres. Everything else requires my presence for longer than I’ve probably got!
5 mins to read and safely reply to 6 emails? Please. It is not quicker per patient than F2F, probably slower for the GP in many cases.
December 4, 2025 at 6:25 AM
5 mins to read and safely reply to 6 emails? Please. It is not quicker per patient than F2F, probably slower for the GP in many cases.
48 hrs a week is full time. 100 hrs/week would be rare these days, (certainly in anaesthesia, perhaps in an on call week or with extra locums) and would be averaged out over time. I don’t disagree with you but hyperbole doesn’t always help the case.
December 2, 2025 at 10:50 AM
48 hrs a week is full time. 100 hrs/week would be rare these days, (certainly in anaesthesia, perhaps in an on call week or with extra locums) and would be averaged out over time. I don’t disagree with you but hyperbole doesn’t always help the case.
You’ve lost me I’m afraid. I originally replied as I think stating ‘teaching for the (frca) exam is zero’ and describing the exam as ‘unpaid labour’ is taking things too far. I stand by that.
November 30, 2025 at 2:54 PM
You’ve lost me I’m afraid. I originally replied as I think stating ‘teaching for the (frca) exam is zero’ and describing the exam as ‘unpaid labour’ is taking things too far. I stand by that.
Although knowledge of lasers, gas laws, hygrometers etc. Has significantly increased my ‘starter for 10’ glory percentage on university challenge. Worth every hour and ph electrode diagram!
November 30, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Although knowledge of lasers, gas laws, hygrometers etc. Has significantly increased my ‘starter for 10’ glory percentage on university challenge. Worth every hour and ph electrode diagram!
I have no issue with updating the primary syllabus tho. A lot of it was outdated when I (we) sat it and I suspect an overhaul is long overdue
November 30, 2025 at 12:40 PM
I have no issue with updating the primary syllabus tho. A lot of it was outdated when I (we) sat it and I suspect an overhaul is long overdue
3) You can be a doctor without exams. Disagree that working to progress your own learning and shape your own life and career prospects should always be done on someone else’s time. It’s as if the learner doesn’t benefit in any way!
November 30, 2025 at 12:31 PM
3) You can be a doctor without exams. Disagree that working to progress your own learning and shape your own life and career prospects should always be done on someone else’s time. It’s as if the learner doesn’t benefit in any way!
1) yes. 30 days study leave pa (other demands on this time acknowledged) plus 1 day/month is a jolly good start. Also the common practice of allowing residents to leave early/study at work when cases allow.
2) total non sequitur 😂 I was taught & teach in turn a vast amount of necessary stuff
2) total non sequitur 😂 I was taught & teach in turn a vast amount of necessary stuff
November 30, 2025 at 12:31 PM
1) yes. 30 days study leave pa (other demands on this time acknowledged) plus 1 day/month is a jolly good start. Also the common practice of allowing residents to leave early/study at work when cases allow.
2) total non sequitur 😂 I was taught & teach in turn a vast amount of necessary stuff
2) total non sequitur 😂 I was taught & teach in turn a vast amount of necessary stuff
You are getting carried away!
1) Study leave allowance is very generous. Plus trainees get EDT as well, 2 or 4 hrs per week depending on seniority.
2) There is rather of a lot of teaching for the exam embedded into the working day!
2) It is not unpaid labour to study for self betterment
1) Study leave allowance is very generous. Plus trainees get EDT as well, 2 or 4 hrs per week depending on seniority.
2) There is rather of a lot of teaching for the exam embedded into the working day!
2) It is not unpaid labour to study for self betterment
November 30, 2025 at 10:36 AM
You are getting carried away!
1) Study leave allowance is very generous. Plus trainees get EDT as well, 2 or 4 hrs per week depending on seniority.
2) There is rather of a lot of teaching for the exam embedded into the working day!
2) It is not unpaid labour to study for self betterment
1) Study leave allowance is very generous. Plus trainees get EDT as well, 2 or 4 hrs per week depending on seniority.
2) There is rather of a lot of teaching for the exam embedded into the working day!
2) It is not unpaid labour to study for self betterment
In my personal (UK) experience, I see obstetricians and midwives bending over backwards to centre autonomy. And I also know so many smart people who feel they have ‘failed’ somehow because their birth didn’t go ‘to plan’. You can have a preference, but ‘birth plan’ is a bit of an oxymoron.
November 23, 2025 at 2:44 PM
In my personal (UK) experience, I see obstetricians and midwives bending over backwards to centre autonomy. And I also know so many smart people who feel they have ‘failed’ somehow because their birth didn’t go ‘to plan’. You can have a preference, but ‘birth plan’ is a bit of an oxymoron.
Yes in principle. But here’s the rub-when it comes to healthcare, choice can be an illusion and a dangerous one at that. Who, when wracked with pain after a long and difficult labour, is in a position to weigh up nuanced information in a time critical emergency situation?
November 23, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Yes in principle. But here’s the rub-when it comes to healthcare, choice can be an illusion and a dangerous one at that. Who, when wracked with pain after a long and difficult labour, is in a position to weigh up nuanced information in a time critical emergency situation?
Uncertainty is baked into the process, human birth is very high risk, fixed ‘birth plans’ often set women up to ‘fail’
November 23, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Uncertainty is baked into the process, human birth is very high risk, fixed ‘birth plans’ often set women up to ‘fail’
Mild learning difficulties all the way to neonatal death. Where would you place the documented emergency here?
November 23, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Mild learning difficulties all the way to neonatal death. Where would you place the documented emergency here?
I believe ‘documented emergency’ is overly simplistic and frankly unworkable. Risk & harm are a spectrum. ‘There is a reasonable chance that if we do not intervene soon you or your baby will be harmed’, is not ‘category 1 c-section for immediate risk to life’
November 23, 2025 at 1:45 PM
I believe ‘documented emergency’ is overly simplistic and frankly unworkable. Risk & harm are a spectrum. ‘There is a reasonable chance that if we do not intervene soon you or your baby will be harmed’, is not ‘category 1 c-section for immediate risk to life’
Agree 💯. This story is beyond tragic. Humans have evolved to have large heads and relatively narrow, biped pelvises (for one thing). Childbirth is the most risky thing many will ever do, but a certain section of society has forgotten that.
November 22, 2025 at 8:36 AM
Agree 💯. This story is beyond tragic. Humans have evolved to have large heads and relatively narrow, biped pelvises (for one thing). Childbirth is the most risky thing many will ever do, but a certain section of society has forgotten that.