“I’m hopefully now closer to the end of pre-reg than to the beginning”

I am delighted to have recently completed Stage 2, and I am now beginning to turn my attention to the objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs).

I will continue to work on my communication skills in preparation, whether that be explaining a test to a patient or talking through an eye condition they may have, which could include breaking bad news in an understandable and empathetic way.

I have really enjoyed the past few months.

My routine tests have become much more proficient, my timings have improved significantly, and I’m now able to see more patients in a day. I think this is largely due to a combination of repetition, refining my technique throughout the examination, and becoming more confident in my management of patients.

At the beginning of my pre-reg, I wish I’d known just how willing people would be to help, whether that be patients or colleagues.

If I had known that at the beginning, pre-reg would have felt a little less daunting than I felt it was at the outset.

Also, I wish I’d realised just how quickly the time would pass – it feels like only five minutes since I left university.

Completing and passing Stage 1 and Stage 2 have both been huge achievements.

The many months of effort, study and organisation in the run up to the various visits was definitely time well spent.

Recently, I also saw my first patient with a retinal detachment.

The patient was in her 80s and had been experiencing new floaters for the fortnight before phoning the practice, but was hesitant to come in for an appointment as she was not sure what the outcome would be and ‘didn’t want to make a fuss.’

My explanation of what I could see in the back of the eye and the emergency referral to the eye clinic helped the patient realise that she had a serious condition, and had certainly made the right decision to come in. It was a useful experience to see the detachment not just on the optical coherence tomography scan, but also on Volk. This will help me recognise it again in the future.

Naturally, it is harder to have a good work-life balance when assessments are coming up.

When there is more spare time, I aim to make plans for my days off – whether that be meeting up with friends or making the most of the longer, lighter evenings by getting out into the countryside, having a barbecue, or just generally not thinking about eyes for an hour or two.

I am continuing to refine my techniques and get slicker during my eye examination.

This has built my confidence as I now have a good base routine of testing, which I can adapt depending on the patient and their symptoms. I have continued to build rapport with the patients and listened to feedback from my supervisor and other colleagues on how and where to improve in my techniques and communication.

Working closely with my supervisor and other colleagues has been great in improving my confidence, as I always feel I can ask questions or for their help in certain clinical decisions or patient scenarios.