Interview-Dr Matthew Clarke
Dr Matthew Clarke came over from the UK in December 2004. He is currently on the ED training scheme with the College. He has worked across the Auckland DHB’s in ED, PICU, CED and ICU.....
My typical day starts with a handover which is quite social and
fun and good to ease into the day. We don't do ward rounds, we deal
with patients who come through the door and we see between 6 and 20
patients per day per Registrar.
There is a huge variety of cases seen on a daily basis and a lot
of procedures which helps to build procedural skills. Patients seen
may have a cold or cough or they may come in with an acute injury
so you see different patients everyday.
In ED you deal with the diagnosis, treatment and stabilisation
of a patient before referring them to a different department.
Sometimes it can be a thankless speciality.
We work 8 hour shifts and no on calls so there is greater
opportunity to apply for annual leave, study leave etc. We work 1
in 2 or 1 in 3 weekends- either a day or night shift. The 4pm to
12am shifts are good because you can do other activities/spend time
with family/study during the day. The team is very supportive of
study leave.
The Auckland hospitals offer different experiences. At North
Shore Hospital you see more geriatric patients and gain limited
trauma experience but more medical experience is gained. North
Shore is a very friendly environment.
Trauma experience at Auckland City Hospital is fantastic. ACH is
a referral centre and you see many Psych cases as well.
The worse spectrum of cases is seen at Middlemore Hospital so
there are different challenges. One has the opportunity to see
child patients as well. MMH has quite advanced and modern equipment
in ED.
The great thing is that you can complete all your training in
the Auckland region, including the opportunity for an external
rotation in Whangarei, which is a fantastic experience. You see
similar patients to Middlemore Hospital, it's very good for trauma
experience and one gets more exposure to different procedures. You
are a retrieval doctor on airway jobs and you get to travel by
helicopter from one site to the next. At Whangarei you get the
chance to do 6 months in ICU or ED.
You must be a team player to work in ED. There are 8-12 hours
where you have consultant cover so it is well supported. The
nursing staff and other support staff are very helpful. It's a very
supportive environment and consultants want to help you get on with
your training so you can become a consultant as soon as possible.
Due to this support there is a high pass rate especially for the
Part 2 exams. Working in ED is good for your family life and due to
the nature of the job/shift work, ED is one of the few specialities
that can accommodate part time employees. Being in ED you get to
work in ICU, trauma, medicine and Paediatrics.
In terms of teaching, one morning a week is teaching which is
rostered. This is set teaching done by a consultant or a registrar.
There is also Part 1 and 2 exam teaching across the Auckland
hospitals for 1-2 hours per week.
To work in ED it's essential that you have good communication
skills as you need to interact with a variety of people; you also
need to have good interpersonal skills and presentation skills.
For house officers, ED is great because they actually get to see
patients and do different things which build their confidence.