Sarah Giles
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
- 5/15/2013
Words to live by
Have courage. These are the words I would offer if I were asked to address medical students on either the first or last day of medical school. I would utter these words because there is a dire lack of courage in medicine today. - 4/25/2013
When and how do we settle down in medicine?
One of the keys to being a successful family doctor is being comfortable with uncertainty. We have to understand that not all diagnoses are obvious from the onset and that serious conditions will worsen while transient conditions will naturally resolve. Right now, I feel that sentiment is a good analogy for my life - 4/10/2013
How do you spell relief? DTM&H!
After three exhausting months of study and two gruelling days of exams, the results are in: I passed! I am the proud new owner of a Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. I am also incredibly relieved. - 3/20/2013
Returning to a student lifestyle is not as fun as you might think
Do you remember the last time you studied for a big exam? I’m not talking about reading through ATLS guidelines the night before the course; I’m talking about a BIG exam. It has been six years since I studied for my family medicine exam and while working toward my Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene here in London, U.K., I seem to have forgotten a few of the salient features of studying. - 2/28/2013
I got schooled by a toddler
I can’t remember the last time my brain felt this full. Now that I’m past the halfway point of my Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene here in London, U.K., I’m forgetting the early stuff, struggling to learn the current info, and dreading the final weeks to come. I have never been pushed so hard for so long. There have, however, been a few distractions along the way. - 2/5/2013
I’ve developed another case of imposter syndrome
My own case of imposter syndrome waxes and wanes depending on the cases I receive in clinic and the ER. Unfortunately, I’ve found it rears its ugly head when I’m in a classroom full of really remarkable people studying my weakest area. - 1/20/2013
Years after medical school, returning to the classroom has been a bit rough
I remember at the end of residency thinking, “I never have to take another exam again!” Well, here I am in London, U.K., taking the three-month Diploma of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and between the eight-hour lecture days and the not-really-clinical sessions, it's exhausting. - 1/10/2013
A poetic look at trauma
- 12/19/2012
When a patient warmed the frozen cockles of my jaded heart
I was in a community where I have done locums off and on for the past four years. Notably, I hadn’t been to this community in a year. While I remembered most of the staff, I remembered few of the patients, and while this patient’s face looked familiar, I couldn’t place him. - 12/4/2012
When the locum goes down
Throughout Canada, there are many hospitals that depend on every single employee/contract worker showing up to work each day. I make occasional appearances in a hospital where two doctors alternate working one week on, one week off. I have had discussions with them in the past that their high-work-volume-to-low-rest ratio could potentially have negative effects on their health—but I didn’t think I’d be the one to drive home the example.
