I graduated last summer to begin my first year of working as a junior doctor and I knew it would be challenging, even without a global pandemic!
 
Due to the strain of COVID on the health care service I was not allowed to rotate into my Psychiatry job, but I understood that I was most needed in the acute hospital trust. Therefore, I have continued to work in General Surgery where there have been unexpected challenges. The main ward I work on was converted to a COVID ward at the peak, for example. The hardest thing has been seeing patients waiting for operations (which are long delayed) coming in with pain and complications that you know won't ultimately be resolved until elective surgery fully restarts. Also, when COVID was at its peak, many patients were too scared to come to hospital. This meant that we saw patients come in with late presentations that should have been operated on as emergencies days before. This made both the surgery and recovery more complex.
 
It has been a baptism of fire into the medical profession, and recent events have left me and my colleagues feeling overwhelmed at times. However, I can't imagine anything else I'd rather be doing. I have learnt so much and I'm proud of how I've progressed over the last year. (Plus I'm happy that my antibody test shows I've successfully fought off COVID!)

Emma Knights OI Class of 2014