The Dreaded Questions

Today was the day that final year medics in the UK were both dreading and anticipating. The release of the "white-space questions" for the foundation job application process. Lots of people have been asking what they are, so here you go...

2. Effective team working can have a significant impact on the quality of the patient experience. * Describe a clinical case you have observed where there has been a multi-disciplinary approach to discharge planning. Describe how the interactions between the multi-disciplinary team impacted on the quality of the patient’s care. What have you learned from this experience about effective multi-disciplinary team working and how will you put this into practice as a foundation doctor? 3. Learning happens in a variety of contexts, some of which are opportunistic and some of which are planned. * Describe a clinical situation which provided you with an opportunistic learning experience. What approach did you take to consolidate and extend this learning? Compare this approach to how you may follow up a planned learning experience. How will you use these experiences of learning to improve the quality of teaching others? 4. Being able to prioritise tasks is an integral competence of a practising doctor and may be challenged by many factors. * You are the only foundation doctor on a busy surgical ward, and you feel under pressure to complete the tasks expected of you. A foundation doctor from another surgical team asks if you will hold their bleep for the second time this week as they want to go to theatre to observe an operation. What would your initial response be to your colleague? What factors would influence this response? If you had to hold the bleep, how would you prioritise the tasks? What additional learning needs does this situation highlight for you? 5. Communicating information to patients can be a complex undertaking. * Describe a clinical consultation that you have observed where the specific cultural, social or family circumstances of the patient posed additional challenges. Identify the techniques used within this consultation that contributed to this patient’s experience. What other approaches could have been used in this situation? What did you learn from this which you can apply to your future clinical practice? 6. Essential attributes of a foundation doctor are the ability to deal effectively with pressure and the ability to prioritise tasks. * Describe two different personal achievements to demonstrate that you possess both of these qualities, relating each achievement to a single attribute. For each attribute, give one specific example of how your achievement can contribute towards improving your performance as a foundation doctor.

I'm not going to share my answers until after the application procedure is over. This is to avoid any potential plagiarism issues. It's safe to be said that I am bricking it though. Personal achievements? Is getting through med school not a sodding achievement enough for you people?! Seriously. I've achieved nothing, so this question is worrying me.

I think a bottle of vino to lubricate the thinking process is needed...

Lily xXx