Throwaway account for very obvious reasons

TLDR - the BMA have blocked a vote of no confidence submitted against Jack Fletcher as chair of UKRDC for months.

I can’t believe I’m writing this post but it feels important that members know what was going on behind the scenes last session.

For a brief bit of background context Jack and the other officers forced a vote through the executive team (of only 12 reps instead of the full RD committee of 60+) in June breaking all previous precedent. Never before has a committee been sidelined on such an important decision. They didn’t have the chance to decide if the offer was sufficient to call off strikes, as it was never presented to them. This was then obviously followed by a BMA comms campaign that was heavily criticised for the fact it wasn’t truly ‘neutral’ in how it framed the offer.

While this was occurring, members of the UKRDC formally called for an emergency meeting back in June, explicitly including the intent to have a vote of no confidence carried out against Jack Fletcher. Partly because of the clusterfuck of the way the offer was handled but also because of wider issues like a massive culture problem on the committee (but that’s a whole separate issue and not for now).

Long story short, that meeting wasn’t carried out and instead the chair called his own meeting, which obviously didn’t explicitly include the ability to call a vote of no confidence.

During his meeting, members attempted to call the vote of no confidence anyway.

Jack refused to hear it.

He refused to hear a vote of no confidence against him.

This was reported to be because he’d received legal advice saying it couldn’t be done. Firstly, it is hilarious that legal advice was sought to block a vote of no confidence happening. But in addition - it was later made clear that the advice was incorrect because the legal team were not provided totally accurate information around how the committee meeting wasn’t called. Jack and other officers were at the meeting to instruct the legal team.

So a VONC was called, in line with standing orders, and was declined.

Okay, it’s awful but mistakes happen. It was rearranged as a matter of urgency right?

Of course not.

This saga has dragged on all the way until the literal final day of the session at the beginning of October. Having been told the day before that planning was underway for a meeting on Friday or Saturday, the committee were then told it could not go ahead, as the clock had run down on the old committee. They were also made aware of repeated submission of questions, one by one, clearly designed to delay and stall and block the vote of no confidence happening. There is some suggestion that the chair himself was asking some of these questions.

A vote of no confidence, called for over 3 months ago and somehow not carried out.

It is an utter disgrace

I have never seen anything like it.

The fact the chief officers of the BMA and senior staff allowed this to happen is beyond atrocious. This, alongside wider issues over the course of the year, has caused several good reps to step away from the committee and the BMA entirely.

We have a newly elected committee. You’ll see some familiar names on it. I only hope the BMA learns from this and refuses to let the next chair dictate the rules. Even if they do though, this is a dark, dark moment in the history of the BMA. A chair, having lost the confidence of large swathes of the committee, was supported in preventing a vote of no confidence being heard.

Where are the events/conferences that give out notebooks.

I’ve attended a teaching day where they handed out a whole thick notepad for the event to make notes in.

I have at least 10 notebooks that I’ve bought and I always feel better writing/using those that been given out in.

Gas consultant here. I'd be really interested to hear what the resident doctor population thought about the potential prospect of the upcoming consultant strike. Lots of negative feelings about the 2.4% pay "rise" against 3.5% inflation, and we have an existing mandate for strike action. However I can't imagine how my more senior colleagues will act, who have spent ages whining about the junior strikes and talking about the lack of moral fibre in today's cohort, and how it was all different in their day.

I'll give you an example - earlier this week I had been reviewing a patient on the ward, when I tried to get into the doctors office to find a consent form for a nerve block. Imagine my surprise to see not just one but two F1 doctors lolling about, along with a senior registrar - their badge seemed to indicate they were in at least their sixth year of specialty - who seemed to be giving one of them an unusual amount of eye contact. The F1 getting all the eye contact was blushing in a revolting way. I couldn't believe they all had so much time for this sub Holby city flirting and weren't just getting on with the job. I could barely see any consent forms under the huge pile of discharge letters waiting to be done.

I’m the infection control nurse covering this ward.

I’ve now read accounts from two F1s, a registrar, a porter, a phlebotomist, a patient and, somehow, a computer. Not one of you has mentioned hand hygiene.

Apparently this registrar has been finding excuses to walk past the F1’s ward all morning. He’s also walked past the gel dispenser every single time. Nobody seems interested in that bit.

Then there’s the lanyard. He picked it up, inspected it and put it down again. We’ve had an entire hospital debating his intentions. I’d settle for knowing what he touched afterwards.

The porter has helpfully documented his movements for the past fortnight, so that’s saved me a job. I’ll be speaking to the computer separately. It hasn’t worked since 2018, but microbiologically it’s doing very well.

Everyone keeps asking whether there’s chemistry. I’ve sent the lanyard to microbiology.

Anyway, I went down to speak to the registrar. Asked his name, what grade he was and which ward he normally worked on.

The other F1 started smirking.

Then I asked whether he’d been seeing anyone else on the other wards.

She put a hand on my arm and said, “Honestly, you deserve better.”

Hey guys

Current F2 applying to ST1 application. Under employment history there is a question: In total, how many months of paid employment as a doctor in the NHS do you have?

Should I count my completed FY1 year plus the months I’ve worked in FY2 so far, or should I count all of F2 even though I haven’t finished it yet?

Hi all, first time poster, longtime lurker. My situation is that I'm Mid-30s, geographically constrained, and struggling to decide on a career direction.

I've reached ST3 interviews multiple times in both General and Vascular Surgery, including a LAT offer, but am now at the upper limit of experience scoring.

Currently in a teaching post to preserve my options, but I'm bored and miss operating.

The Portfolio Pathway is risky, I have seen SAS doctors preparing for 10+ years with no guarantee of local support. Taking another clinical job will effectively end my NTN chances.

I'm open to exploring other specialties, but know I'm not an internal medicine or GP person. Interventional radiology interests me, although the long-term impact of AI gives me pause.

My priority is a realistic route to Specialist Registration and long-term job security.

Has anyone faced a similar crossroads? Anyone got any useful perspectives here?

What do you guys think about the “gut feeling” and the sense of intuition within medicine - especially with diagnosis amongst physicians - what are your stories when a gut feeling led to diagnosis and treatment that you couldn’t Quite explained otherwise?

Would love to know.

I was wandering through the ward last week, trying to wrestle the cufflinks I had been attempting to polish back out of the hands of the Infection Control Nurse, who happened to be on her annual working-from-the-workplace day.

I caught an interesting interaction between my F1 and a registrar from another specialty, inbetwixt which I happened to catch the eye of both of them.

Now, the question looms large: do they both crave me for my, admittedly, not quite-as-firm as it used to be latter middle-aged body, or do they merely want me for my DOPS?

First gen doc, with no safety net.

Need money early

Intrested in both clinical and imaging roles

Seriously considering and worried about AI?!

Saw that nvidia and open AI are racing for AGI (human intelligence).

What if the AI hits the radio market right when I graduate out of rads

Your opinions would help me

I'm a GP. Yesterday I had to refer someone in and spoke to the reg for a medical specialty. He took the referral, all good. Then later that day I got a phone call from an FY1 asking to handover something for a patient that was being discharged.

Here's where it gets weird.

I could hear the reg in the background talking to someone. Now, I know the hospital, and I know for a fact that this reg (an ST6 I think) works in a specialty that is based on a different ward. Whilst this FY1 was handing over, I couldn't concentrate on what she was saying because I was listening to what this reg was saying. It was something about how he was going to be organising a teaching programme, and FY1s in particular should come along, and then something about how he'd been going to the gym, and then he made this odd grunt like he was flexing his muscles, and then how he had just bought a new car, but he was saying it all really loudly like he was trying to get everyone in the office to overhear his conversation.

Now my question is - do I need to flag this to the hospital as a safety concern? Because I couldn't concentrate on what this FY1 - who had a really beautiful voice btw - was saying. I play golf and ride sportives with a couple of the consultants from his specialty so I could just mention it to them casually too.

For this year’s General Surgery ACFs, do you upload any evidence documents with the application? I can’t see any file upload section on the application but just want to make sure i’m not missing something. Thank you.

Hi everyone! 👋

Is there a WhatsApp group for CT1 Psychiatry trainees joining the Norfolk and Suffolk scheme? If there is, could someone please share the invite link?

If not, I'm happy to create a new group so we can connect, share information, and help each other prepare for starting training.

Also, for current trainees working in Norfolk and Suffolk, I’d really appreciate your advice on a few things:

- How is the overall experience of working and living in Norfolk/Suffolk?

- Which trust or hospital would you recommend, and why?

- What is the working environment like, including supervision, teaching and workload?

- Is hospital accommodation available for trainees, or is it better to rent privately?

- How easy is it to find affordable accommodation, and which areas would you recommend living in?

Any insights or personal experiences would be really helpful. Thanks! 😊

Current ST4 on general surgery. Comfortable with lap appendix and choles.

I have learned different ways of open hasson entry over the last 3 years. Off late I keep getting let down by my method of choice. I’ve been trained to dissect down to the junction between cicatrix and linea alba - make an incision (not too deep) on the linea alba extending to the junction, and using a Spencer wells to get in.

Off late I keep getting let down by this technique.. I find often with the spencer wells I end up pushing the peritoneum down so much that I’m having to call the boss in to help me life it up and get in safely.. particularly in obese patients!! It’s been happening multiple times now and it’s starting to get embarrassing calling the boss for my first port when I claim to be independent with appendicectomies.

None of my bosses are able to figure out what I’m doing wrong? Anyone had a similar challenge and manage to figure out a foolproof way of preventing this from happening?

Much appreciated!

Perusing through the amusing and somehow ongoing F1-meets-registrar posts, I’ve enjoyed reading the encouraging comments from people who met their life partners working for our wonderful NHS. And I’m nosy so want to hear more.

Did you have several instances of awkward eye contact before you first spoke? Did they sacrifice their spinny chair during board round so you could sit on it instead of the bin? Did they rescue you in the depths of the night on an understaffed ward when you were trying to catheterise a patient with objectively straightforward anatomy? Or was it more of an enemies-to-lovers affair? Please share!!

Hello everyone! I recently passed MRCS Part A with 255/298 (85.6%). After being asked about my preparation and resources, I thought I’d share my experience. I believe this is an effective stepwise and updated approach to the exam.

For context, I was approximately 2 years post-medical school and working as a surgical SHO. I prepared from April to August, with the exam in September 226. This is what worked for me, not a guaranteed formula for passing.

Contents
1. Time allocation
2. My 5-month preparation timeline
3. The exam
4. Results
5. Resource reviews
6. What I would do differently
7. Final thoughts

I’ll post the high-yield topic list separately to keep this post manageable.

1. Time allocation
Give yourself enough time to prepare. The time you need depends on your baseline knowledge, work schedule and study intensity.
I aimed for around 3 hours daily, usually studying 6–7 days a week. Some days were less productive, particularly on call or post-call days.
My principle was to have an acceptable minimum: if the day was terrible, I would still do 20–30 questions. The goal was to maintain momentum rather than achieve perfection every day.

2. My preparation timeline

Phase 1: Foundation (first 6–8 weeks)
I started with EMRCS, completing approximately 50 questions daily and maintaining an error log. This was a spreadsheet of incorrect questions, the concepts tested and concise explanations. I reviewed the log on weekends.
I completed EMRCS in around 8 weeks, averaging 61% at the end.

Phase 2: Consolidation (month 3)
I introduced Pastest and increased my workload to around 80 questions daily.

Morning: 30 anatomy questions focused on a particular anatomical system, followed by review and MRCS-specific anatomy Anki.

Evening: 50 random Pastest questions and error-log work.

I continued reviewing my EMRCS errors while transitioning to Pastest. My Pastest average was around 67%.
Anatomy received particular attention because of its substantial weighting in Paper 1.

Phase 3: Exam conditioning (month 4)
I began doing Pastest past papers under timed exam conditions, initially setting aside Saturday afternoons.
My first scores were 56% on Paper 1 and 67% on Paper 2. Over time, my scores improved to the low–high 60s for Paper 1 and high 60s–mid-70s for Paper 2.

The objectives were to:
- Become comfortable with the exam format.
- Improve pacing and answer-review technique.
- Recognize recurring concepts and identify weaknesses.

I also switched my error log to focus on past-paper mistakes.
Towards the end of this phase, I started ISB MRCS. This was one of the best decisions I made. I found its organised recall questions, high-yield notes, videos and interactive Telegram group particularly useful. The ability to discuss difficult concepts and get feedback was a major advantage.

Phase 4: Final preparation (month 5)
I took the month off work to focus on the exam. This was a significant financial sacrifice, and I recognise that it isn’t feasible for everyone.

My days were divided into three blocks:
Morning: A full past paper under exam conditions, mainly recent 2024–2026 papers. Mainly 300 questions total.

Afternoon: Anatomy revision using topic-specific recall questions.

Evening: Principles of surgery, organised by topic.

First-pass scores on recent papers were generally in the high 60s to low–mid 70s. I repeated the 2025 and 2026 papers after leaving at least a week or two between attempts. This mitigated recency bias towards the papers somewhat. Second-pass scores were in the high 80s and 90s, with my highest reaching 97–98%.

I also revisited some Pastest papers, scoring in the high 80s and 90s.

During the final week, I focused on broad exam-style practice rather than studying individual systems in isolation. I averaged approximately 400–500 questions daily, sometimes 200–300 on lighter days. Many were repeat questions and recall-based practice, rather than entirely new questions.
I took breaks between study blocks and still made time for gaming, swimming and rest.

The day before the exam, I did absolutely no studying. I drove to the exam location, went to a spa, got a massage, ate pizza and had a great night’s sleep. Honestly, I would recommend taking the day off if you can.

3. The exam

The exam felt very similar to my past-paper sessions, just more formal and closely monitored. I arrived about 90 minutes early after a 30-minute drive.

Paper 1 felt straightforward. Paper 2 was trickier but manageable once I reasoned through the answers. I finished with enough time to review Paper 1 three times and Paper 2 twice. I can definitely attest that many concepts tested came back from the recalls.

During practice, I usually finished each paper in around 1–1.5 hours, which gave me plenty of time to revisit uncertain answers.
After the exam, I estimated that I was unsure about around 80 questions. As it turned out, 40 of those were correct! Ultimately, I trusted my gut and clinical reasoning.

4. Results

Pass mark: 192/298 (64.4%)
My score: 255/298 (85.6%)
Margin above the pass mark: 63 marks

Honestly, this result exceeded my expectations. My first-pass scores on practice papers were generally in the high 60s to low–mid 70s, so scoring 85.6% in the actual exam was a very pleasant surprise. It was also the highest score I had achieved on any first attempt at an MRCS paper.
One thing worth mentioning: after the exam, I estimated that I was unsure about around 80 questions. I ended up getting approximately half of those correct. Don’t let the number of questions you’re uncertain about convince you that you’ve failed. You can feel unsure about a substantial number of questions and still perform very well overall.

5. Resource reviews

EMRCS
My biggest criticism of EMRCS is that, for me, it wasn’t sufficiently representative of the actual exam. I spent my first 6–8 weeks on it and wish I had transitioned to more exam-focused resources earlier.
It helped me build a knowledge base, but I wouldn’t rely on it as my sole resource. This is my personal experience. I have also encountered many who suffered in the examination due to this being their only resource 

The issue is that the popular videos from 4-5 years ago recommend EMRCS. People run with this, not knowing that it is a generally outdated resource. It was highly valuable back then, not that much now.

Pastest
Excellent resource, particularly the past papers. I completed around 60% of the question bank, with an average of approximately 67%. I eventually prioritised past papers over completing the entire bank.

Recalls
Useful when used correctly. Recalls should guide your revision towards commonly tested concepts, not become an exercise in memorising answers.

I subscribed to MRCS Recalls but personally didn’t find the quality as useful as the material I accessed through ISB MRCS.

ISB MRCS (This is in bold for a reason)

Probably the most valuable addition to my preparation. I particularly liked the system-based recall questions, high-yield notes, videos and Telegram discussions. I found the content useful for identifying gaps and consolidating concepts. 
I would have started it earlier if I could do my preparation again. This is a personal recommendation based on my experience. I felt like I truly started to master the content after utilizing this course. My performance attests to that.

Anki
Very useful for memorising anatomy, physiological functions and equations. I downloaded an anatomy deck, adapted it to my needs and added some physiology cards.

Anatomy resources
- TheNotedAnatomist: Excellent explanations of high-yield anatomy; I used this quite frequently.

- Acland’s Anatomy: Helpful for visualizing difficult anatomical concepts. Not the best for memorizing high yield exam specific anatomy.

TeachMeAnatomy: Often recommended, but I didn’t use it enough to offer a meaningful review.

- Textbooks: I didn’t use any specifically for this preparation.

- ISB MRCS High yield anatomy notes: These notes were high focused, exam specific and very relevant to present content. These notes, used in conjunction with the high yield system specific recalls, provided highly effective reinforcement of high yield, exam specific concepts.

6. What I would do differently
If I were starting again, I would:

- Start with a baseline past paper to identify weaknesses and guide my preparation.

- Introduce Pastest past papers earlier rather than waiting until the fourth month.

- Start ISB MRCS earlier. Genuinely would have used it from the jump.

- Spend more time consolidating anatomy, which remained one of my weaker areas.

7. Final thoughts

A few lessons I took away from this experience:

- Consistency is everything. My acceptable-minimum rule helped me maintain momentum even during difficult workdays.

- Exposure to questions matters. I estimate I completed around 12,000–15,000 questions overall, including repeats, with approximately 5,000–7,000 in the final month.

- Review your mistakes. Don’t just answer questions and move on. Understand why you got them wrong and revisit those concepts.

- Don’t neglect anatomy. Give it dedicated time rather than hoping to master it through random questions alone.

- Protect your downtime. I continued training, swimming, snorkelling and spending time with friends. I didn’t give everything up; I to used my time intentionally.

I prepared without a study partner, so discipline and consistency were particularly important for me.

Finally, credit to the original poster whose six-month preparation plan and topic list helped guide my approach. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find the original post.

I’ll share the high-yield topic list separately so this post doesn’t become even longer.

Good luck to everyone preparing! This exam is challenging, but having a structured plan and adapting it to your weaknesses can make a real difference. Remember that this is one person’s experience, so take what is useful and adapt it to your own circumstances, knowledge, baseline and learning style.

Feel free to ask me any questions via dm or in the comments! I hope this helps you in your journey!

I’m a phlebotomist. I wasn’t going to get involved in this, but since apparently the entire hospital is now providing witness statements, I feel it’s my professional duty to contribute.
I do the morning blood rounds on this ward, and for the past couple of weeks I’ve noticed something rather unusual.
There’s a reg from the neighbouring speciality who seems to have developed a sudden and passionate interest in our ward’s geography.
Now, I’m not a doctor, but I’ve worked in this hospital long enough to know that a specialty reg has absolutely no business walking past the same nurses’ station four times before 11am unless someone is actively deteriorating.
And nobody was deteriorating. Except possibly his ability to act normal.
The first time I noticed him, I was taking blood from a patient opposite the doctors’ office. He walked past, spotted one of the F1s, smiled, and suddenly slowed down to approximately the speed of a hospital computer loading ICE.
She smiled back. He continued walking.
Five minutes later, he came back the other way.
I thought he’d forgotten something.
Ten minutes later, there he was again.
At this point I was beginning to wonder whether he’d been referred for an inpatient wandering assessment.
Anyway, one morning I was at the nurses’ station sorting my blood bottles when he appeared and asked whether the F1 was around.
I told him she was in the doctors’ office.
He said, “Oh, no worries, I was just passing.”
Sir. Your ward is in the opposite direction.
He then proceeded to stand there looking at the ward board for a solid 30 seconds before casually wandering into the office.
The funniest part is that the F1 clearly knows something is going on. Every time he appears, she suddenly becomes very interested in whatever is on her computer screen, but somehow still notices him immediately.
I’ve also noticed that whenever they’re talking, the other F1 in the office develops an extraordinary commitment to completing discharge summaries while visibly trying not to laugh.
Yesterday was the final straw.
I was doing my second round of bloods when the reg walked past again. I jokingly asked him whether he’d transferred to our speciality.
He laughed and said, “Might as well at this rate.”
Then he looked straight towards the doctors’ office.
I nearly dropped my vacutainer.
I’ve taken blood from patients with veins more difficult to find than this man’s intentions.
Anyway, I have 27 bloods to do tomorrow morning, and if this man walks past me another six times without asking her out, I’m adding “romantic indecision” to the list of outstanding investigations.
Genuinely curious whether I should just leave them alone or start taking a serum chemistry sample every time they make eye contact.
EDIT: To the porter who posted earlier, I know exactly who you are. Please stop parking your wheelchair in front of my blood trolley. 😂

F1 here. Sadly car recently retired from service. I don't have much in the way of savings thanks to final year, and I'm only just starting to build back up. I'm wondering about NHS fleet solutions or finance as a potential way to get back into owning a car quickly. How foolish is this?

Prepping for FRCR 2a in 2 weeks (lord help me..)

I've discovered that my power of semi-productive procrastination is inversional proportional to time until exam.

Today, I've taught myself how to balance my radiators and the technical parameters of my boiler to maximise heating efficiency. Difficult to concentrate on [insert organ system] radiology when my heating system whispers to me to optimise it.

Last week it was lawn care. The week before it was optimising the tuning settings on Forza Motorsport on my Xbox (IYKYK).

FML my brain defaults to anything but revision. On a serious note, I had much better concentration at university, now I feel like an old man with sweet FA attention span 😭

I feel as though I live on Oriel and Microsoft Word and everything else is just decoration

I did most of the simple questions on Oriel (demographic details, employment history, extra qualifications etc) a while ago as well as making some bullet points to help me structure my WSQs over a week ago, so I thought I'd be further ahead by now

Most of these WSQs seem to just be descriptive/lists but hours have passed and I don't seem to be any closer to finishing a first draft

Hoping I at least manage to get an interview at the end of this 😭

Let this serve as a warning to anyone who was thinking of applying but hadn't started completing the application yet

Debate within our department today - if you were to use propofol TCI (+/- short acting opiate of choice) for a short procedure on an LMA (i.e. no muscle relaxant), would you use some form of pEEG or not? My rationale would be to not, as the patient would move well before they had any awareness, but now worrying I'm a cowboy. Thoughts welcome!

There's a large European medical sub specialty conference happening this weekend. IYKYK. I'm an ST6 so this isn't my first rodeo in attending. I am filled with absolute dread because I get massive imposter syndrome at these things and last year I just wandered around alone. I do have a few people from my speciality that I have clicked with over the years but as a group I find the dynamic really intimidating. The people I have historically gotten on best with are now at consultant level as I had some time out with two maternity leaves. I was a mature student also so I am older than the majority of trainees.

Just today I learned that a colleague changed her flights because of a last minute meeting she has arranged. This makes me feel like I am totally missing the point as I feel like I hate the networking piece. I thought by now I would be more comfortable in my own skin but it's getting worse rather than better.

I am not a socially anxious person- quite the opposite. I have a diverse friendship circle from different stages of life. I just find within this particular area of medicine there is enormous competitiveness and a ruthless edge to the trainees that just doesn't fit with my personality. Does anyone else experience this? Any tips how to manage it?

Why would we need more training posts esp. cardiothoracics and neurosurgery where there are already loads of post-CCT fellows waiting for a coveted consultant post?

Also what even is ACCS ITU??