"How cool are dictaphones?" "stop", "new paragraph"

Today I had my first surgery at my GP placement. This means that I've got patients of my own, real...live...patients! I have my own room, my own computer, my own sign on the door, my own button on the computer to send in my own patients and all sorts of other cool stuff which I'll come onto later.

Throughout the last couple of years at other gp's I've always been able to see patients on my own before they see the GP but not to the extent that I can now. Now I have my own surgeries built into the computer system and the receptionists book patients in to see me... they must all be stark raving bonkers.

Anyway, it was great fun. That feeling I had from my elective where I felt like I was actually being a doctor came flooding back, although fortunately for the patients I'm still heavily supervised. My GP supervisor has slots in her surgery to come and check on me, make sure I'm not going to kill anyone and sign any prescriptions etc etc.

This morning I had 5xhalf hour slots - so the patients are actually getting a good deal, they get to spend 3 times as much time with me as they do with the doctor. Although most appointments don't tend to take that long, by the time I've worked out how the computer works and written up the histories (hopefully without referring them accidental for a vasectomy.) that half hour is soon gone. My first patient this morning was 40 minutes early, he must have been excited to see me.

It was an odd morning actually, 3 of my 5 patients went away with referrals to the hospital - 2 under the 2 week rule for the same thing. This of course meant that I had to do the referral letters - or more precisely I had to dictate them! This was by far the highlight of the morning, I'd always wanted to play with a dictaphone and dictate my own letters - it was unbelievably cool. So cool in fact that it took me about 40 minutes to dictate my 3 letters because I kept changing my mind about what I wanted to say and I kept recording over myself by accident. I used to sit in clinics and listen to consultants dictate their letters adding all sorts of weird and wonderful phrases wondering when I'd get my hands on a dictaphone. I kept my letters very professional - I dread to think what the consultants will think of them when they get them though - I'm sure I probably filled them with useless information about entirely irrelevant things but not to worry. Ok, I'll stop now, maybe I'm slightly too over-excited by this dictaphone thing, after all - referrals aren't generally that good for the patients.

Anyway, I didn't kill anyone, and even managed to come up with decent management plans. I really enjoyed myself, hopefully I didn't scare the patients too much.

Afternoon surgery starts at 4pm this afternoon, is it really bad that I hope somebody needs referring so I can dictate another letter?