Tahmina Rashid

Currently, I am working as a junior doctor in East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, which has two working sites (Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital and Burnley General Teaching Hospital).

I am in a rotational post (General Surgery & Urology). As a junior clinical fellow, I have a wide range of responsibilities, which include.

• Documenting patient encounters thoroughly and accurately, maintaining detailed records for continuity of care.
• Developing strong rapport with patients, fostering trust, and promoting effective communication for better diagnosis and treatment plans.
• Collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to coordinate comprehensive patient care plans.
• Handling high-stress situations professionally while maintaining composure under pressure for efficient problem-solving steps within healthcare settings.
• Identifying and addressing gaps in patient care by collaborating with other healthcare professionals to modify treatment plans as needed.
• Conducting comprehensive physical examinations to identify underlying health issues and develop appropriate treatment plans.
• Reviewing laboratory results critically for accurate interpretation and utilization within diagnostic algorithms as required per specific cases.
• Implementing preventive care measures by educating patients on lifestyle modifications that promote overall well-being over time periods examined.
• Mentoring medical students and interns, promoting professional growth and development for future physicians.
• Assisting senior physicians during surgical procedures, ensuring optimal patient outcomes.
• Managing emergency situations effectively, employing critical thinking skills and providing life-saving interventions when necessary.
• Providing emotional support to patients facing difficult diagnoses or treatments, ensuring a compassionate approach in every interaction.

As a resident medical officer in Urology, my duties were divided into inpatient and outpatient settings in this hospital.

In the outpatient clinic, I perform a lot of procedures, such as...

• Catheterization
• Intravesical chemotherapy.
• Urethral dilatation.
• Bladder wash.
• SPC change.
• Cystoscopy-guided removal of D J stent.

My other responsibilities include:

• To counsel the patient and patient attendants for admission from the clinic (if required) and brief about operative procedures, including the prognosis, outcome, and postoperative complications beforehand.
• My inpatient responsibilities include:
• Clerking the patient after admission.
• Attending the rounds along with my consultants, presenting the cases, taking notes, sending necessary investigations through the computer system, and ensuring proper care for the admitted patients.
• To provide regular follow-up to the patients and attend to any urological emergencies in the ward.
• To attend board meetings, which include any urological concern, with my consultants.
• To prepare the patients for theatre, manage the theatre list, and provide post-operative follow-ups.
• I attend the surgeries as an assistant and was privileged to learn a lot of surgical techniques from my specialist and consultants.
• Preparing discharge notes in the system and referring the patients when required.
• To attend on-call urological emergencies and manage them after consulting with my specialist and consultants.

During this period, I've worked in the Neurosurgery department of United Hospital, Dhaka. This is a 500-bed multi-specialty hospital, occupied with the latest lab technologies, with premium healthcare facilities.

• My duties were clerking the patient after admission.
• To take a history from the patients.
• To prepare the patients for the theater and arrange the theater list.
• To attend the rounds with the consultant, take notes, and execute plans, which are essential for providing proper care to the patients.
• To give follow-up to the patients both in the Neurosurgery ward and ICU.
• To ensure lab investigations, to prepare discharge letter in the system, and to perform procedures such as NG tube insertion, change of dressing, removal of drain tubes, etc.
• To attend neurosurgical emergencies in the hospital and take necessary measures to manage the patients.

As a junior doctor in the ICU, here are my responsibilities:

• Receiving critically ill patients from the emergency or other departments.
• Collecting history from the patient attendants and completing the necessary paperwork.
• To discuss the DNAR, DNA-CPR decisions with the patients and their attendants, and also involve them in those decisions.
• To attend rounds with my seniors and take proper steps to follow the management plan for the patient's well-being.
• To counsel the patients regarding the patient's current condition, our plan, and possible outcome.
• To ensure investigations such as CT, MRI, by accompanying the patient while being transferred to the designated department.
• To collect the lab reports, evaluate them, inform the seniors, and take immediate action if required.
• To send referrals to the different departments, attend to those referrals, present the case, and execute the proper planning.
• To prepare transfer notes, death certificates, and case summaries.
• I routinely performed some procedures, such as catheterization, NG tube insertion, ABG analysis, and subcutaneous injections. I operated BIPAP, CPAP, and mechanical ventilators and managed critical conditions such as acidosis, alkalosis, electrolyte imbalance, and sepsis.
• I also performed efficiently as a team member whenever there was a Crash Call in the ICU.

I completed my internship at Mitford Hospital, which is a 1500-bed multidisciplinary hospital and also a leading teaching hospital in Bangladesh. It provides government-funded treatment to a population of around 4 million.

When I started my internship, it was peak time. COVID-19 had just begun to spread in our community. It was a very challenging environment to work in. But, I consider myself lucky enough to serve the people of my country during that time, one of the greatest pandemics.

During my internship, I rotated through mainly three departments and several sub-departments. My responsibilities were as follows:

Internal Medicine, 23/03/2020 - 02/08/2020.

• Attending, take, and post-take.
• Clerking patients admitted to the ward.
• Formulating a management plan for acutely unwell patients under the supervision of seniors.
• Performing procedures such as IV cannulations, pleural fluid aspiration, ascitic fluid aspiration, and lumbar puncture.
• Debriefing and counseling the attendants.
• Helping with rota coordination.
• Teaching clinical examination and skills to final-year medical students.

General Surgery - 03/08/2020 - 13/12/2020

• Assisting in major surgeries.
• Ensuring post-operative care of patients.
• Performing minor surgeries under supervision.
• Performing debridement and sutures of wounds.
• Doing dressing of wounds, NG tube insertion, catheterization, removal of drain tubes and sutures, removal of foreign bodies from ear, nose, and throat.
• Arranging rota and helping with the distribution of duties.

Obstetrics & Gynaecology – 14/12/2020 – 22/03/2021

• Assisting in cesarean section and other surgeries.
• Post-operative care of patients.
• Performing and aiding the team in normal vaginal deliveries.