Stories from the University of Leicester Medical School SSC workshop for junior doctors in training

Abs had a successful career as an accountant in London before deciding to go back to medical school. Despite the ups and downs, his chosen path seems to be the right one.

Matthew is a keen and enthusiastic medical student. He successfully performs a ‘by-the-book' catheterisation, but the discovery that there is more to his vocation than technical know-how leads him to reflect on the true nature of caring for patients.

As a medical student, Salam is shocked and angered when an emergency operation doesn't go according to plan. But he comes to realise that things are not always what they may seem, and even consultants have feelings.

There are many preconceptions and stereotypes surrounding hospice care. When Steve chooses Hospice for his clinical placement, he is pleasantly surprised to find that care of the dying is not at all what he had anticipated.

When Steve chooses a placement at a hospice, in order to learn some of the ‘softer’ skills that he thinks will help him in the practice of emergency medicine, a casual remark causes him to reflect on what ‘type’ he needs to be to care for people facing death.

As a medical student, Wee Haan becomes acutely aware of the tensions between caring for the patient and caring for the family – and pleads for tolerance while he learns to find the right balance.

Patients in the last days and hours of life can sometimes be challenging and even unreasonable. As the only male professional on the ward, Wee Haan is at first frustrated, but then patiently responds to the final requests of a dying man.