Dealing with stress

Question 1

Missed a diagnosis and patient has died as a result

Answer 1

Patients death can have serious effects on someones mental health
- Focus on myself

• Talk with patients family members

Question 2

Prescribed the wrong drug- patient has died

Question 3

How do you deal with stress

Answer 3

• Making a structured schedule and prioritising tasks in order of importance
  This helps me stay organised even when under pressure and so that I can stick to deadlines
• By continuing to exercise regularly at the gym helps me keep a healthy work-life balance
• When under pressure I focus on breaking tasks into manageable parts
• In the moment, breathing exercises

St georges has a really good support system such as counselling and personal tutor scheme, which I know I can access at any point if I need help with coping with stress

Question 4

Why is it important for doctors to be able to deal with stress

Answer 4

• Stress can lead to poor decision making, and increased errors. Which can negatively affect patient outcomes.
  Stressed doctor may miss important details in patient symptoms or medical records, which can lead to incorrect diagnoses or inappropriate treatments

Manage heavy workload, work under pressure
- Continue to provide best quality of care to patients

Question 5

A time when you faced a challenge. How did you handle it?

Answer 5

• During gsp, took lead, poster under tight deadline
• A group member had personal circumstance and unable to contribute fully
• I took initiative to:
• Assign tasks based on skills and availability
• Prioritised tasks that needed more immediate action
• As a result, finished before deadline to high standard
• This experience taught me importance of good leadership/teamwork and adaptability under pressure
• During WEX, talk about cardiology ccu wards

Relevance to med
- Problem solving skills- critical in diagnosing and managing patient care
- Resilience- med requires perseverance and the ability to handle stress
- Capacity for sustained and intense work, motivation, problem solving

Question 6

A time when you had to deal with conflict

Answer 6

Problem solving, Ability to work with others

• Resolving an argument between children whilst volunteering at community