Dr Sankar Ram Ragasankar

Key Responsibilities Essential Experience & Skills

• Clinical Management: Provide frontline assessment, diagnosis, and management of acutely unwell patients in emergency and inpatient settings. You will be responsible for managing a wide range of acute and chronic medical conditions.
• Procedural Expertise: Demonstrate proficiency in essential medical procedures, including venipuncture, cannulation, arterial blood gas sampling, NG tube insertion, and urinary catheterization. Experience in initiating and managing non-invasive ventilation (CPAP/BiPAP) and oxygen therapy is also required.
• Patient Communication: Regularly communicate with patients, families, and carers to provide updates, explain management plans, and discuss sensitive issues like escalation of care and end-of-life decisions.
• Documentation and Safety: Ensure accurate and timely documentation in patient records, handovers, and electronic systems to support safe continuity of care. You will effectively prioritize and manage competing clinical demands to ensure patient safety.
• Multidisciplinary Collaboration: Actively participate in multidisciplinary ward rounds, family meetings, and discharge planning. You will liaise with relatives and community teams to ensure seamless patient transitions.
• Holistic Care: Provide comprehensive care for frail and elderly patients, with a focus on functional assessment, rehabilitation, and advanced care planning.
• Teaching and Development: Contribute to departmental teaching for medical students, junior colleagues, and nursing staff. You will also be involved in audits and quality improvement projects aimed at improving patient outcomes and service delivery.
• Clinical Experience: A minimum of two years of postgraduate experience in the NHS.
• Specialty Rotations: At least one year in acute medicine, six months in respiratory medicine, and eight months in geriatric medicine.
• GMC Registration: Full registration with the General Medical Council (GMC) with a license to practice.
• Professional Skills: Proven ability to work effectively under pressure, exceptional communication skills, and a commitment to teamwork and ongoing professional development.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Initial management and critical care of acutely ill patients.
• Assessment and stabilisation of major and minor trauma patients.
• Taking detailed and focused clinical histories and performing relevant examinations.
• Clerking patients, ordering investigations, and following up results.
• Interpreting ECGs, X-rays, CT scans, and laboratory investigations to support diagnosis and guide management.
• Attending consultant-led ward rounds and contributing to the formulation of management plans to optimise treatment.
• Liaising with other specialties and arranging referrals as required.
• Participating in on-call duties and night shifts.
• Maintaining accurate medical records, including updating drug charts, preparing discharge summaries, issuing certificates, and providing medico-legal statements in line with hospital protocols.

Achieved certification in Palliative Medicine, complemented by volunteer experience as a palliative care doctor.

• Shadowed palliative physicians during inpatient consultations and home visits to reinforce theoretical learning.
• Participated actively in seminars, enhancing understanding of both theory and practice in palliative care.
• Conducted home visits alongside nurses, providing ongoing support to patients with advanced illnesses.
• Managed oncological emergencies, including spinal cord compression and chemotherapy-induced neutropenia.
• Addressed holistic needs of patients and families while counselling on prognosis and comfort care options.

Delivered ongoing medical care to critically ill patients, collaborating with consultants to optimize treatment plans.

• Counselled patients and families regarding conditions and management strategies.
• Updated drug charts and prepared discharge summaries efficiently.
• Arranged referrals and liaised with other specialties as required.
• Managed critically ill COVID-19 patients exhibiting red flag signs such as breathlessness and hypotension.
• Assisted in essential procedures including arterial line insertion and endotracheal intubation.
• Reviewed patients in home quarantine during telemedicine sessions, prescribing medications remotely.

• Emergency and Acute Care: Managed a wide variety of medical, surgical, pediatric, and cardiac emergencies, including initial assessment, diagnosis, and treatment.
• Surgical and Procedural Skills: Performed minor procedures such as suturing, splinting, and cast application. Assisted in major surgeries and managed pre-operative and post-operative patient care.
• Inpatient and Chronic Disease Management: Provided comprehensive medical care for inpatients, including ordering and following up on investigations. Managed chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease.
• Multidisciplinary Collaboration: Liaised with other specialties to coordinate referrals, discharge planning, and follow-up care.
• Patient Communication: Counseled patients on procedures, obtained informed consent, and discussed treatment plans and potential complications.
• Anesthetic and Obstetric Experience: Gained experience in pre-operative optimization and assisting with anesthesia. Completed rotations in pediatrics and obstetrics, gaining exposure to common conditions and patient management.
• Teaching and Quality Improvement: Contributed to departmental teaching for junior colleagues and medical students. Participated in audits to improve patient care and service delivery.