OO Dr Navin Leanage (07), junior registrar (ST3) in emergency medicine, recently joined Oakham’s Doc Soc meeting online to give his perspective on the A&E ward during the current pandemic to pupils in Forms 6.
Dr Leanage began by outlining a typical day and week on the Covid ward at Leicester Royal Infirmary, before talking to pupils about postgraduate NHS career routes into medicine. He detailed his own training since becoming a doctor and briefly explained to the pupils the different grades of doctor within the NHS, and how training paths differ.
Dr Andrew Nicoll, Teacher of Biology and Doc Soc Organiser, followed this up by asking Dr Leanage about his academic duties at Leicester University, alongside working in the emergency department, A short video was shown about ‘simulation training’ in emergency medicine, which is a particular interest of Dr Leanage’s and the students found it fascinating to see how realistic the mannequins are that are used to train future doctors.
Dr Leanage then drew some comparisons between the current wave of the Coronavirus pandemic, and the first wave last year, including what has been learnt about non-vaccination treatments such as dexamethasone.
Finally, Dr Leanage said a few words by way of personal reflection on how medical staff cope emotionally in such a pressurised environment and have done so for a long period of time, for which the students were extremely grateful. “I love my job – but people must stick to the Covid rules!” he commented.
Form 6 student Annie Dudin said, “Dr Leanage spoke to us about a range of topics in a very engaging manner; from the training required to begin a career in medicine, to the practical side of his job, and even the personal aspect of being a doctor, which was extremely valuable and eye-opening.”
This is the second time Dr Leanage has visited to speak to Doc Soc members about the subject. The first visit was in May 2020 when he gave a fascinating virtual talk about Life on the Coronavirus Front Line, which focused on the science surrounding the pandemic, during what we now refer to as the ‘first wave’. Both talks explored a variety of issues relevant to pupils applying to study medicine at university.
The next ‘Doc Soc’ meeting will be the annual ‘Healthcare in the news’ presentations.
