“Working 15 hour days is hard, ridiculously hard. It’s even harder when they are sandwiched into a 12 day straight roster and you know full well that you have another whole week to get through before you get your next day off! Until our rosters get better my way of coping is to take it one hour at a time. I also joined our union and the NZMA so that I know someone will continue to advocate on behalf of doctors while I am busy working.

On long days I make a real effort to stay hydrated, take small snacks with me, make a point of dropping almost everything…except MET calls or urgent reviews of course…to make it to the canteen for meal breaks. Getting to the cafe too late for dinner on a long day is not worth it. I learnt that lesson early on when I would frequently miss dinner on my long days because I lost track of time while my pager kept going off. Carrying a task list, prioritising jobs and delegating to other colleagues also helps. Most importantly I try to remember why I became a doctor in the first place. Focusing on my patients and trying to make a real difference to them right here, right now, sometimes makes long days a lot easier to cope with”

PGY2 RMO

“All through medical school I remember being told that doctor wellbeing matters. But as the stress of actually starting PGY1 became real and as the hours piled up I started feeling like no one cared about my wellbeing. Leave application after leave application was declined and it was hard to see how our roster or role were designed to keep us well. At times the rewards of the job made it all worth it but some days sleep deprivation or a particularly difficult clinical situation had the potential to unhinge me. But small things did make a difference and still do. Our intern supervisors were fantastic. Protected teaching time gave me a reprieve from being paged on some of the better runs  and some sessions actually provided some very salient learning points. I made a point of finding a GP in PGY1 so I had my own doctor for when I needed one. And I told all my friends that although I would often have to turn down social invitations because chances are I would be working, to just keep inviting me so I wouldn’t get socially isolated. Seeing friends when you are well makes it easier to call on them if things don’t go so well one day!”

PGY2 RMO

“The transition from trainee intern to house officer is tough, but overall well supported. It is expected that you will need support and generally people are understanding when you may not always get things right.

For me the transition to being a registrar was even tougher due to the expectation that you will now have the knowledge to tackle most things independently. Senior colleagues are on the most part approachable and recognise your limitations, but there can be times when you feel you are in the deep end of the pool and suddenly cannot remember how to swim!

I remember a particularly tough stage where I was having some interpersonal difficulties with my junior and senior team members and working longer and longer hours trying to stay afloat and not miss anything with my growing numbers of patients. I was getting more and more tired, more and more stressed, less and less productive.

I was going home disgruntled, not enjoying work and this was carrying over into my personal life creating stress at home as well as physical health concerns. It was a vicious cycle and something had to give.

I ended up taking some time off, regrouping, seeing my GP, getting my life in order at home and refocusing on what was important. Close friends and family were instrumental in giving me snippets of advice and support – after all it is not just doctors who get stressed, and everyone adapts different ways of dealing with it over the years.

My advice would be to work on developing yourself as a person, and not just as a doctor, when things are going well; it will pay off time and time again when life gets stormy.”

PGY3 RMO