Matlock Group Surgery

Matlock Group Surgery

This experience was shadowing a doctor at one of my local surgeries. I looked at a range of disciplines during this work experience from mental health check ups and home visits to routine medicinal prescriptions and dressing of wounds. This gave me a well-rounded experience of life as a GP and allowed me to practice working with the public in face to face scenarios.

I found the variety of issues the GP dealt with surprising and gained a new respect for their caring approach. From dealing with a pregnant ladies’ alcohol issues to discussing the possible need for dialysis and tracheotomies with patients, the work was certainly never boring. An experience I found interesting was the dressing of the wounds of a young boy who had a metal plate removed from his arm and the previous dressing removed. I watched them take out previous stitches and leave him with just dissolvable stitches. Getting to know the patient and, briefly, their medical history related to the case was engaging and gave me a great experience of what my life could be like as a doctor; taking into account previous medical treatments and reactions and interacting with various patients. 

Even simple treatments of things like conjunctivitis in a seven year old boy were intriguing for me as I watched the doctor interact with the patient and also which drugs they prescribed for each incident. Looking at how the doctors worked with online medical records and how they inputted data showed me how significant my high level of computer literacy will be during my future work.

This glimpse of the everyday life of a GP has strengthened my wish to be a doctor and has given me an in depth knowledge of this field of medicine.