Darley Dale Surgery

Darley Dale Surgery

In 2012 I partook in work experience at Darley Dale medical centre. This was rather hard to arrange and took great initiative since my family has no medical background with contacts that I could call upon. Yet, I succeeded in organising this and gained greatly from the

experience.

On the first day of this work experience I observed the receptionist staff; this was invaluable since it gave me an insight into the inner workings of a GP surgery. I was intrigued to find out about how they book home visits and appointments within the surgery. I also enjoyed looking at the intricacies of repeat prescriptions and how the surgery liaises with the pharmacy. Dealing with this administrative side of the role of a GP was important to me since this would give me the edge when I am in the role of doctor. 

Further to this I gained experience by observing a phlebotomist, nurse and GP; working with all members of the multidisciplinary team. This highlighted the difference between roles of nurses and doctors and solidified my career choice as doctors have a greater biological knowledge of the intricate details of how the human body works. A section of my experience that was enlightening was the baby clinic which I visited; this was interesting since I had previously had little experience surrounding this area. Understanding the workings of this section from being allowed to weigh the babies to the nurses dealing with social issues that the mothers may be experiencing appealed to my caring nature. It also emphasised the concern if the babies did not develop properly or gain weight and showed how this was an early warning sign for disabilities.

I found it particularly interesting shadowing the phlebotomist and watching her take bloods from different patients of all backgrounds. She explained to me the different tests available and what each coloured tube means. I spent a lot of the week shadowing different types of nurses; this showed me how the nurses roles differ to doctors. However, shadowing nurses showed me the importance of their role and how valuable they are to doctors and in providing care to the patients. I worked closely with a warfarin nurse going on home visits one day to provide drugs to those unable to get into the surgery. Another day, I was placed alongside a district nurse; going on home visits and reapplying dressings on elderly patients who were no longer as mobile as before. We also did a visit to a care day centre for the elderly to assess the requirements of a particular patient to live safely in his home.