First night on the town

Tonight we go out on the town. Though it didn’t seem like a big deal at the time, I think it is the first time that we have done so in the six weeks we have been here. We went to a surprise party for a colleague of mine who was accepted into the plastic surgery program here. One of greatest differences between medical education in the states and in the UK system, as is followed here and in Australia is how we get accepted into the training program. While at home, we go straight from medical school into a residency program, here you apply for jobs as house officers. You do what would be considered “scut work” designated for junior residents in the U.S., such as doing the admission or discharge paperwork, following up on lab results or radiographs, then reporting these to the higher-ups. The difference is that junior residents still get to operate (presuming we are talking about surgery). Here, that is all they do. But a house officer may do surgery for four months, pediatrics the next four months, and internal medicine for the “run” after that. In addition, a U.S. resident will matriculate each year, barring disaster. Here a bloke could opt to stay as a house officer indefinitely. And why not? The pay is good, most are young and single and in a position to do a lot of fun things with that money. Relative to the Americans, they are very well traveled and have done a lot in the way of adventures, such as skydiving in the USA, hiking in the China, or snowboarding here.

Then there is the next level, where they work like what we used to call interns. These days in the U.S., it is a term synonymous with rookie, for the most part. But junior registrars are basically trying out some of their favorite specialties, then trying out for senior positions. The advantage is that they have the opportunity to know they like the job they choose, and that the programs hire people they like. They down side, a significant one, is that you can potentially be stuck in this level. How long do you keep trying to get into a specialty before giving up and moving to another? Or maybe you need to change locales to get some face time with another program? It is a difficult game.

So there was a good deal of significance when Kasia got accepted to the program the last week of June. Suddenly her next six years are mapped out for her. And not just for her, but her family, as well. It is a big accomplishment. So her husband rented out the top level of a nice bar in City Centre, with open bar and hors d’oeuvres, for a surprise party for her.

She was indeed caught off guard. Her gestures and face said it all; I wish that I had had a camera rolling. She walked in gabbing then gestured to her friend that she recognized one of the other people in the bar, as if to pardon herself to go say hi. But before she could make a step in that direction, she realized she knew the person behind the previous. Looking around, suddenly she realized she knew a lot of people; in fact, all. After recognizing about ten faces, it became clear. It was clear that the surprise party was a success.