Shannon Collings is an FY1 Doctor at Warrington Hospital, currently working in Trauma and Orthopaedics. Her first six months on the job have taught her the value of teamwork, and a good cup of tea!
“Overall, I’ve really enjoyed the transition, and felt I was ready by the end of six years. It feels like much longer than six months since I qualified!
In some ways, nothing can prepare you for the long hours, new responsibility and NHS pressures, but I felt as prepared as I could be having been through ward shadowing and on-call shifts in Year 5. I’ve enjoyed having purpose to my days and working as part of a team.
It’s rewarding finishing each shift knowing you’ve made a difference, particularly out of hours managing acutely unwell patients.
The appreciation from patients and their families brings me the most satisfaction.
Shannon at her graduation, July 2022
One tip I have is to make sure you build a good relationship with nurses and other MDT members.
When you have a three-page jobs list and are looking after multiple wards, sometimes just being offered a cup of tea or being asked if you need help with jobs such as cannulas or NG tubes can make the biggest difference.
Listen to them when they’re concerned about a patient too; as doctors we often spend the least amount of time with patients and might miss things, so their insight is important.
My biggest advice for final year students is to not be too disappointed if you don’t get allocated the hospital you want. I didn’t get my first choice, but I am so happy that I am where I am, I’ve made the best friends and love being in a small district general. Hospitals are all the same really, it’s just two years and time really will fly by!”
Dr Shannon Collings
Lovely to hear from you Shannon! Browse through more tales from our past graduates over on our Alumni Stories page (link).