A lesson in 'ridiculousness'

...that's actually a word. As is 'preposterousness', courtesy the Microsoft Word thesaurus. Discovering this has considerably improved my day.

I am currently on my SSM (special study module), which is in clinical education. Useful, but tiring, even though it shouldn't be, because I'm placed in a hospital that's about a forty minute drive from the medical school.

This would be marginally better if I had a car, but even then, it still wouldn't be great. We get no reimbursement for travel expenses (or if we do, then the system is about as transparent as a brick), and there is no local, free accommodation. How rubbish is that?

Then again, I've no clue what it's like at other medical schools. Hmm, maybe this warrants some research.

Anyway, I got a dressing down this morning for being a half hour late, as my lift couldn't get me in earlier. I meekly tried to explain my calamity (I would have had to get a bus at a very hellish hour to have been on time), but nobody seemed to care. Possibly because they live locally to the hospital. To be fair, I was being a little bit lax last week on the hours I spent in the office, but still.

Don't pick an SSM based outside of your medical school, no matter how beautiful it will look on your CV, especially if you're not actually interested in the topic (and I am interested in teaching and I'm still saying this).

The other ridiculous part of all of this is that I'm going to be expected to teach - no, that's not the ridiculous part -  the use of a piece of equipment I don't even have the license to actually use myself, because at this trust, you have to be registered with a professional body to use it.

I'm sorry, what? I was expecting to teach something like 'abdominal examination' or suchlike to a bunch of eager young first years (or eager old Graduate Entry first years), not to teach those considerably older than myself, and already working full time. It's a bit of an insult to them, surely?!

Well, I don't make the rules.

Will update on how it all goes at a later date!