Vol. 1 No. 2, 2008

In our five years at medical school we have sat through thousands of lectures, absorbed an encyclopaedia of knowledge and rehearsed, and re-rehearsed, our clinical skills. After all this, surely we should be competent in the basic skills required of a junior doctor. It seems not.

In a recent study of 2,400 junior doctors by Edinburgh University, over 40% did not feel they would achieve the minimum competencies on drug prescribing set by the GMC. It proves an important point. Despite all the training we receive, and the expectations placed on us by the NHS, being a good doctor is not simply applying the skills you do have – it is also being aware of those that you don’t.

We’ll never have a complete understanding of how the body works – it’s a fact of the career we’ve chosen. Even as a consultant we are going to be faced with new procedures and situations where we will need to be aware of our competencies. That’s why it is a useful addition to your medical school training.

Picking up some of the more common pitfalls that doctors come across will make it safer for both you and your patients. So turn to page 8 and tackle a common problem – writing death certificates. Every new doctor has to do it, and most medical schools don’t teach it, so get the inside how-to here.

Check out www.juniordr.com.

Dr Ashley McKimm, Editor JuniorDr and SHO Addiction Psychiatry