This might be the best email autoreply ever:

***** is experiencing spectacular email backlog, on the edge of
declaring email bankruptcy, but that probably won’t stop him getting
back to you. if it’s about giving a talk, the answer’s probably no
these days as i’ve got a day job, and 8,734 other mischievous projects
on the go, so unless it’s free admission and open to all comers, and
even then, sorry, probably no. if you’ve sent a story, thanks! if it’s
about anything else, in particular if i owe you something and the
deadline is passing, i definitely know, and am glad of the prod.

Elective scholarships are available through the British Medical and Dental Students Trust (BMDST), a charitable organisation. MDDUS members can apply for awards of £100 and £1000. The MDDUS is an independent organisation offering legal advice and professional indemnity for doctors, dentists and other healthcare professionals. The deadline for applications is 31st January for electives taking place between April and September.  Grants were in the past granted in March and September, but are now simply granted in March of every year.  Figures for the variation in applications and grants given can be found in this table. The overall success rate is around 20%. The BMDST is working on its own website, but for now a page is hosted by the MDDUS. It is largely funded by the world’s biggest pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline. This resource is underused at present, and is a great opportunity to find funding to make the most of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The UKFPO questions for 2010 application have been released. The deadline for filling them in online is next Friday 23rd. Get on it, final years. I still can’t believe they changed the West Midlands Foundation Schools at the last minute without any consultation. The following questions are scored at 10 points each and have a 200 word limit. They are numbered 2-6 as question 1 is simply filling in previous academic qualifications.

Question 2

Describe a case from your clinical experience that you have observed in the first 24 hours from hospital admission. How did members of different professional teams interact and how did this contribute to effective patient care? What did you learn from this that will influence your future practice as a new doctor?

Question 3

Describe a memorable experience of being taught and how this has shaped your thinking about teaching. Identify a particular situation in which you might be teaching as a doctor in the future. Describe how you might apply what you have learned to maximise the effectiveness of your teaching.

Question 4

You are one of two foundation doctors on a ward round. The registrar identifies a minor error made by your colleague and makes inappropriate critical comments in front of the patient and the healthcare team. Your colleague is visibly distressed. What actions would you take and how would you prioritise these? What actions do you believe your colleague should take in relation to these comments? How might you address a minor error made by a more junior colleague in the future?

Question 5

Describe one example from your medical training when you received feedback on an aspect of your performance. Explain how that feedback altered your subsequent practice. How will you use this experience to develop a specific aspect of your foundation training?

Question 6

At times, the patient and the medical team have different ideas on the management of the patient’s illness, because of personal, social or cultural views held by the patient. Describe a clinical case where you have observed this. Identify the factors that contributed to these differing views. Why is it important to understand these differences in your practice as a foundation doctor?

The trip to Hull York medical school in Hull is  a bit of a blur as the photo would suggest. The guys there were great and I was really busy entering people for the prize draw and giving away our tasty bags as modelled here by Ian.

St Georges is just around the corner from me so it was just a hop skip and a jump to Fresher’s there… well a cab ride actually with loads of boxes full of tasty give aways. Here is Gemma looking glamourous on the stand with the books that we borrrowed from Books and Stuff at the hospital!

So here we are at QMU in London with our friends from John’s Smiths Bookshop Mile End. We were so busy that I forgot to take the photo untill everything was gone including most of the chocolates!

So here is our table at Oxford this was the last freshers that we did and as usual everyone was great – we did a prize draw for all of these books!!

Laura from Blackwell's manning the stand

Here we are at Bristol Fresher’s with our Friends from Blackwell’s bookshop. We had a lovely time