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Memories from Sweden - Scrubs

There are certain things that I have noticed and will probably keep noticing that are different between Sweden and the UK. I think it'd be good if I write about them here, so they can stop occupying space in my brain. I am also feeling that I need a witness to my working years there, as it was a part of me that only I know and will remember.  The first time I saw women in scrubs outside in England, I thought there must be some thing going on, the parent picking child up in scrubs must be in some serious hurry. Turns out, no. Many people do this. It was specially evident outside the hospital around 5 pm. Different colours of scrubs leaving for home, as if it's totally normal. And it is.  In Sweden, people would want to go out to get lunch (which is a topic for another day), and I would see them change out of scrubs, some would just change the trousers as they would be visible under your jacket. Some had longer jackets so the scrubs were hidden and only leggings showed. Shoes we...
Recent posts

Lack of information vs lack of relatable resources

 When I moved to Sweden there was a general lack of information from other people about the route to medical license. Later on there were certain threads on some online platforms, facebook groups and few YouTube videos. Anyway, for me individually there was not enough info when I needed it. There were people in my shoes: people moving with their partners, some came with another visa, many were refugees, and some were Swedish people who studied abroad due to limited medical school seats in Sweden. Some people going through the process are specialists from non-EU countries. But you would meet all of these people while working, not before you started the process of getting the license. Now to compare that with UK. There are hoards of information available, so many businesses around preparing for the exams. Many people taking PLAB route are doctors in their own countries wishing to move to the UK, some moved as spouses or other visas. Most are early after graduation, others after long ...

After completion of AT in Sweden

Life got very busy during the second half of AT. I reduced to 80% work so it extended my AT by a couple months. I took AT exam after finishing training and cleared it. The long awaited "Legitimation" was home. In general things got pretty tough to balance by this time so I decided to take a break and focus on home, kids and myself. During this time we decided to move to the UK. I'll post about the reasons and the process at a later date.  Anyhow, I took time to wrap things up in Sweden, we sold the house, and took the time to settle in. Now that things were a bit calmer, and all my kids were in school from 9am to 3pm, I shifted focus to career once again. Due to certain rules about required length of training after license in Sweden, I did not qualify for a direct registration with the GMC. It turns out my pathway will include taking PLAB! It took some time to come to terms with this new reality, as I was expecting to get registration directly because of going through the...

Half way through AT

I started AT nine months back. I have had medicine and surgery placements and am done with both sit-ins. It is such a great feeling. I am still a bit bitter at times that I waited so long for this, but 99 percent of the time I am happy and grateful. I have had advantage of the habit to not complain too much and try to see it positively. It has helped me in stressful situations, all those hyped up areas like nights alone at surgery akuten, difficult wards in medicine and surgery, having double as many patients on some days compared to other days. I have tried to get through and enjoy and learn as much as I can. Some days the lesson has not been purely medicine related, instead it has been how to manage time, how to deal with quick changes, how to have a check on my emotions, how to help a colleague, how to talk to a worried or disappointed patient, how to come home on time, how to prioritize and how to say No. I am forever grateful for having been through this, in many ways I feel like ...

AT-läkare... finally

The first few weeks have gone towards getting used to being called, and introducing myself as AT-läkare. I still smile a little and am grateful every day to finally be able to move forward. It has been so good for me to be taken care of, to have someone keep an eye on me and my schedule, to have some variation from one week to another. I'm not very quick at complaining anyway, but having helpful and kind people around can make it a lot easier.  It's so exciting to be able to see the other side of vårdcentral (primary health care). What happens to the patient exactly when I send them to a hospital. What is the doctor with the name on the referral thinking when they are sitting in their chair at the hospital. Today I met my handledare and was called "ambitious". It reminded me of my early years in Sweden when people told me to calm down, that I was too ambitious for the Swedish system. It felt good in a way to be called that again. And that considering that I am not rea...

Superman

Before even meeting my next patient, I am anxious. Why? Because I just read he has decided by himself he will not continue with any medicines prescribed for his complex condition, doesn't want contact with specialist clinic & wants to go to his local primary care center for continuity. Continuity that I can't promise, being a junior doctor. He speaks multiple languages, has done many different jobs, gone through highs and lows in life, has been relatively healthy as a whole. But now that he is sick, he won't take those medicines. No sir, not the 15 tablets they want me to take. It's absurd. It's chaos. What if I get side effects. I take one and I'm here so you can write a second one. Just one more. I try and resonate with him. Go over the list to choose which one it will be. Discuss with available specialist. I keep battling in my head whether my success today is getting him on board to take care of his health or is it just being done with this whole meeting...

My road to getting AT-läkare position. A timeline.

2011 - Moved to Sweden in August - SFI done. 2012 - Sjukvårdsvenska at Folkuniversitet. Did Swedish A & B national tests. Done in August with high school level Swedish/European scale C1. 2013 - Prepared and attempted TULE twice. Cleared clinical on first attempt. 2014 - Attempted TULE third time. Last 2 attempts during pregnancy. Had a baby in April. Got admission in KUL and started August. 2015 - Done with KUL, Decision from Socialstyrelsen to continue with AT in order to get license. Applied AT. Started job as vikarierande underläkare. Still in fairyland in hopes of getting AT soon. 2016 - Worked one year at vårdcentral. Applied AT. Baby no. 2 November. (13 months experience at this point) 2017 - Parental leave. Applied AT. 2018 - Became job seeker in August. Worked a few months at hospital at beroendekliniken. Applied AT. 2019 - Baby no. 3 March. Parental leave. Applied AT.            (Applied AT every Spring and Autumn from 2015 to 2019 in...