Refal Jaha

ENT Aug - Dec 2025

• Assessed and managed acute ENT presentations in both ward and emergency settings.
• Participated in independent on-call reviews, prioritising urgent referrals and recognising red-flag presentations requiring senior escalation.
• Exposure to complex sinonasal disease, including suspected cocaine-induced midline destructive lesions / vasculitic presentations, requiring sensitive substance-use history taking and non-judgemental patient communication.
• Developed strong communication skills when managing anxious patients with distressing symptoms such as airway compromise, sudden hearing loss, and suspected malignancy.
• Gained further experience in addressing the psychological impact of addiction-related harm, reinforcing an interest in holistic and addiction-informed care relevant to psychiatry.

General Practice Dec - April 2026

• Independently assessed a broad range of acute and chronic presentations, balancing physical, psychological, and social contributors to illness.
• Built strong consultation and rapport-building skills through continuity of care, shared decision-making, and safety-netting.
• Frequently encountered patients with mixed physical and mental health needs, including anxiety, low mood, medically unexplained symptoms, and stress-related presentations.
• Developed mental state examination (MSE) and psychiatric history-taking skills through regular assessment of patients presenting with depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, health anxiety, and psychosocial crises.
• Strengthened skills in risk assessment, safeguarding, and recognising when psychosocial factors were contributing significantly to symptom burden.

Emergency Medicine April 2026 - Present

• Worked as part of the emergency department team assessing undifferentiated acute presentations across medical, surgical, and psychiatric interfaces.
• Developed confidence in rapid triage, initial stabilisation, and escalation of critically unwell patients during high-pressure on-call shifts.
• Managed patients presenting in crisis, including overdose, agitation, delirium, and acute behavioural disturbance alongside physical comorbidities.
• Refined skills in de-escalation, risk recognition, concise handover, and multidisciplinary collaboration, with clear relevance to acute and liaison psychiatry.

Orthopaedics and General Surgery Aug - Dec 2024

• Managed acutely unwell surgical and trauma patients on the ward, including assessment, escalation, and daily review.
• Participated in daytime and out-of-hours on-call surgical shifts.
• Performed routine clinical procedures including venepuncture, cannulation, arterial blood gases, catheterisation, and ECG interpretation.
• Coordinated postoperative care, fluid management, analgesia optimisation, VTE assessment, and discharge planning.
• Developed strong time management, independent ward-cover, and risk-assessment skills that align closely with future psychiatric practice.

Obstetrics and Gynaecology Dec - April 2025

• Assessed and managed patients presenting with common gynaecological and obstetric conditions in ward and acute settings.
• Developed particular insight into the psychological aspects of women’s health, including anxiety surrounding pregnancy complications, miscarriage, fertility concerns, and new cancer diagnoses.
• Supported patients during highly vulnerable and emotionally distressing periods, which strengthened my interest in the relationship between physical illness, crisis response, and psychiatric wellbeing.

General Medicine and Stroke April - Aug 2025

• Core member of the acute medical take on-call team, clerked new admissions, initiated first-line investigations and management, and presented patients to senior clinicians.
• Managed patients with complex acute and chronic medical conditions, including sepsis, electrolyte disturbances, AKI, delirium, and medically unexplained symptoms.
• Performed daily ward reviews, formulated management plans, requested and interpreted investigations, and coordinated specialty referrals.
• Experienced in recognising delirium, cognitive change, behavioural disturbance, and capacity concerns, strengthening my interest in the overlap between physical and mental health.
• Held sensitive discussions with families regarding prognosis, ceilings of care, DNACPR decisions, and complex discharge planning, refining compassionate communication, highly transferable to psychiatric practice.