The Most Northerly Doctor in Britain

I’m not sure if anyone is familiar with Type 1 and Type 2 Fun. If you’re not, it’s a classification of fun based on whether you actually enjoy what you’re doing at the time (Type 1) or only when you look back on it, seems fun with good memories (Type 2). I have invented a third category (Type 3) which was neither fun at the time or afterwards (The 138 mile Dragon Ride cycle event comes to mind 😱). In preparation for my sabbatical as a remote GP on Unst, one of the requirements is completion of the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Course, run by BASICS (British Association for Immediate Care)  https://www.basics.org.uk/ So off I went to stay in a cute Airbnb in Luton last week, for 3 days of training. It was amazing and I recommend it to anyone who works in the pre-hospital setting. However, the last time I did anything more than an annual BLS update was in 1997 when I did an ATLS course whilst working in A&E as a junior Dr. The other attendees included anaesthetic and A&E SpRs,...

“Why don’t you do a sabbatical?” she said.  It started over a glass of wine with my old University friend, Meinir. We met in 1990 at Sheffield University Medical School and have been friends ever since. We’ve had many glasses of wine together.  Me in my comfort zone at work  It was September 2022, the country was coming out of the Covid pandemic and General Practice felt like an exhausting place to be.  I was facing another 10 years of a job I wasn’t sure was for me the way it was going, but felt too scared to make a change. It was comfortable. I’m a partner at Wareham Surgery (isn’t the building lovely 😂 - we are planning new premises btw). A well lead, well staffed practice in a beautiful part of the country.  I live in a stunning village on the Jurassic Coast, my kids have finished Uni, home life is settled.  Comfortable.  I felt a need to get out of my comfort zone and challenge myself professionally. The seeds were sewn during my time in Sheffiel...