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so high to everyone who's joint is already just go. Wait a couple more minutes before we get started. Um, well, for a few more people to join. Okay. So, hello, everyone. Uh, just before I get started, could someone quickly right in the shop whether you guys can have me on up, um, before I start going into everything because it be awful if I was just talking to myself, Um, so just someone could quickly just right? Yes. In the chat function is just on the right hand side of the screen. Just let me know You can have me. No accident. Thanks is about so my name's Christian. Welcome to the local and three, which is about the F three surgeries this year. Um, it's evening. We've got that PSA Lauren craft on dose myself. We're gonna be talking a little bit about life as a locum laurinda lot work. Um, in leads on by myself locum in London. Uh, we're going to be talking about that. The pros and the cons of low coming keeping up with both fell. I was in all of us. Um, just to say the F series is brought to you by the phone by the popular clinic, which is also running a minty ship in particular. This matches junior doctors with trainees in the shows and field and can be really helpful with teaching you how to get into a job, how to maintain training through it, a swell a Z maintain portfolio and all that kind of thing. If that's something to be interested in learning more about, go to the poor fellow clinic dot com. It's all free. Um, because they were getting a lot of registration for mentees and mentals at the moment in lots of different fields s so it could be really helpful for planning your future career. So, without further and do let me stop sharing. I ever. So we've got Lauren craft with us A say she was a or is now an mg training who, locum in her f three. Uh, she's going to tell us a little bit more of ourselves now. Hi. Everyone s I'm loving a script. Said I'm SC one trainee. Um, Courtney in obstetrics and gynecology on day at the moment are relates. Um So what I'm going to do is have got presentation. Um, just with some the key points on it, but maybe just going to chat about what I did my three year and maybe focusing on local ring, um, and kind of opportunities that provides for you. So I'll share my slides and we'll just kind of talk through them. And then, if anyone's got any questions on way, then I'll try and answer them the best that come. If anyone to 70 questions just pop them in the chop will be checking it pretty regularly on day shift. One of our other people with the mental clinic is just put in a note for a link to some dynamic notes that we're keeping. So if you want to access, there's any points. Please just go through that at the end of the session will also be putting a link in for some feedback, obviously, is really important for us to be able to plan. Future sessions also really helped with Lauren, who's coming up in a time for us today just to get some good feedback about what you like, some of things that you maybe we could improve in the future. So So let me know if you didn't see those slides. So you just, uh So just let me know that you can see them in the top. That'll be great. They're on my screen boats of the other one ever nurses as well. Yeah, if you If you can't see them, then just let me know. And so Yeah, this is my after you, Um oh, no. Yeah. It's gone up now. Got off. Now you know what happened. That's try again. Yeah, well, it may. Okay, so right. I think it's let me school through my slides so you can also see them. Can you? So they tried. When you going to present? Can you go through the cramps up? How are you doing it? Yeah, I was going to the crime top. Okay, we're going to your entire scream. It's a few different options you see now. Yeah. Perfect. And I can't see the chance to run a click on the child stops. Let me move aside. So I'll, uh, I'll give you a date. And so, generally, what we're going to talk about as a kind of briefly mentioned is my three year. Um I'm thinking about what you can do. Enough three years, so lots people think about having some timeout? Medicine? Um, lots of people think about low coming, and lots of people don't know how to go about that or what to do and where to start. Really? So I kind of thought that maybe I could get crossed risk a great job somewhere, and probably one of the tricks that I had already works up. And but then I kind of thought, That's not really what I want to do because I don't want to be tied down to a job. So I start to think about what might might like doing walks Had I not do it in my foundation training and or what would I like to kind of just getting a bit more experience in because I wasn't entirely certain that I wanted to go into my specialty. This is a probably partly three left to when I'm thinking about three, or whether I should apply for training. And so generally, if you think about locum work was kind of two men ways that you feel down. So that's either external locum work. And this what this means is local work and no, in a trust that you've worked for before generally, or it could be a choice you have worked in before. But you work through an agency, so you paid slightly differently, and generally you signed up to an agency, and then you they give you jobs. Then you go What? The jobs s. We'll talk a little bit more about that in a minute. The other option is internal local work. So that's kind of that being on your back for your hospital, So staying in the department, you know, staying the hospitals, you know, and kind of having maybe a bit more consistently come work. Um, Then I sort of thought, Could I stop working? I don't want to stop working. How do you feel about not having a regular schedule knowing where I'm supposed to be every day, knowing what water's was to be on every day. And I kind of thought about this for a while, and then the cough sort of thought Well, after he's kind of perfect. Couldn't kind of see how things go And you can always change your mind. Um, I'm part my three years. I wanted to have a bit of a life outside medicine, so I think we, ah, go straight into training all the time. Um, a very busy. And then we don't We always think about life outside of medicine. And so that's what again, we'll talk about a little bit more later on a swell. So, um, won't going to much of these and look, she tell. But this is kind of what the whole Siris is about. So some people go straight to training, and that's not what really what? We're here to talk about books. That's fun. People know what we want to do is to go straight to training, but I don't feel pressure to go straight into training just because that's what Evan else in your year group or your foundation group of doing because it's really important to make the right decisions. So if you want to do it, go for it. But that's why we're here to kind of give you other ideas. Um, some people go into clinical fellows some people to teaching fellowships and learn really great skills from that and teaching medical students teaching pa students doing research, and but that just wasn't what I wanted to do. Lots of other people choose to work or travel abroad, and this is something I have considered. So I didn't think about working a board, and I kind of thought, Could I Lok, um, for a period, time saving money. Then go work brought, um Oh, did I don't know locum same applies of money and then possibly just travel. So don't stop working on part of my original plan if they want to go work for two. I've thought about New Zealand, but then with the whole pandemic, I guess things changed. That changed my decision making process and the kind of and the route that I ended up following. But I have multiple friends that are out in Australia, New Zealand. I'm I know it's edible, having a nice time. But I also think, and the grass is always greener, so I think you can have really great experiences. But some of them, some of the people that's been up there and kind of say, the raft still some of the same problems that you have in the chest or actually do a lot of urgent care, work and any work, and if that's not what you want to do, then it could be harder getting jobs, and then you still might know. Enjoy as much You think you want to, Um, that's just this morning about that. And then, really, what I'm getting into today is more about low comming how you do that. And then Chris is gonna ship in about his experiences as well. So kind of a took stopped before, like, for me. And it was all about flexibility. So I didn't want to work Monday. Friday. I didn't want to work. Um, long shifts ate, like, 30 every day. I wanted to be able to say, I'm going to hold the next week. I'm gonna go, obviously goes here, so that wasn't entirely what I could do. But I wanted to be able to kind of say, today I don't feel like going to work or actually have worked hard enough this week. I can have a few days off. So for me, flexibility was really key for my three year, and I wanted a bit of a break, but I also wanted to keep my skills in my training up. So and what did I do? So I thought about low coming internally on D and then you you ask the hospital. We find out from people you find out from doing themselves. I'm what kind of rates a locum race kind of people offer you and generally a zone external. Oh, come, you offered more money because what happens in the hospital is they have a job. They can see that ass, that stuff in the department who say no. Then we'll ask the bank stuff unknown, comes up with the shift on then my offer a shift for, say, 50 lbs an hour but have not filled the shift. So then they, um, asked a local agencies an external like, um agency if they can fill that position. So generally that off the slightly high rates, Um, so it might be instead of the 30 lbs if you might be offered 40 to 45 lbs. Well, what you have to bear in mind is the the local man is it takes a cough, the money. So you need to be really clear your local pharmacy that I want to work the shift so that I'm earning 40 lbs and our know that I'm earning 5 lbs in on your getting 5 lbs with that, and you just have to be very clear with them saying I will work on this trial Storm happy to work wherever, but I won't work for less than 4 lbs on our I won't work for less than 50 lb on our, um and then some days. Also most cause you might negotiate that you might be happy to work for less money because they may just fill out said no. And what? You have to be careful because they're trying to take a share of the pie on. They will come back and tell you they can't get this amount of money for you. When when Gen generally they come, it's just being a little bit like stumbling firm and saying, I don't want to work for less than 40 lbs or someone else wants to do that Fine. And we're just finding that balance of what you're willing to work for because you don't want to find yourself being declined for all of the chefs. So some of the pros about external locals you can get a little bit better pay and he can work anywhere so you don't have to stay where you what live you? Could you taken extended trip and he could work in hospitals or on the country in the UK And you could make an remote places like Jersey guns, see some locum inches, even tell you far from places and like the cabin and things like that. So as we're coming up pandemic, you can do local agencies. I'm not say we can push. You have three months amount of a few flights. What they might pay for accommodation is like, Do you want to go on back early? That might be nice Today. The downside is so you have to pick an agency. So there's lots of agencies out there. Some of the Commons with the bottom sell a call. Doctors. I'm the medical medication. Be very many more. Um, but like I say so it's like a commission for them. So they're very keen to get you to work shift. So there's lots of persistence, lots of phone calls, lots of emails saying, Can you do this shift? Oh, I've got this job available to up to do with that and and he can be proactive and say these the dates. I'm willing to work these the dates, um, available, but Sometimes I'll still push to get you to work extra and days and shifts, and that might be fine. But actually view of the reason you wanted to work the next don't like Mister, just do a few shifts a week. You just have to bear in mind that there's sometimes that pressure on do. It's kind of that learning to say no to the left. Main seen Stand your ground, Say I don't want to work and mushrooms this week, but I'll work next week for you or having a few days off and not stop. And that's generally working is an external income. So how do you find out about them? We find out about it through talks like this through word of mouth, people can refer. You and I ended up joining whole doctors because I knew a few doctors that worked for whole and the general kind of signing up process was very easy. If people recommend you, they often get a reward like a feel vouchers for it you sent. You have to fill in paperwork just like when you're joining you trust, but not quite extensive. So occupational health forms proven vaccinations, proving that you have shown in new GMC stiff but those kind of things. But all in all, it's quite easy. Teo, get going with external locum agency and he can sign up for X, a local made suit before you start it every three years. So you could start thinking about this Sort of like June, July, June, July time, even a little bit early if you want to, because there's no pressure to start working for them until you're ready to say that might be August or that actually might want some time out in August. So that might be late in the year. But you can sign up early as you want to, and and when I worked in external Okay, um, so I LoConte further feels that I didn't just stay and leads. I did more he structure, which is a level where trained book places sort of like on the East Coast on do hospitals. And and so that's general extent, like me and internal abdomen. So, working as an internal oh, considered this normally means you work in one of the trust that you've worked before. So small weighted one placements weighed braided the F two placements, and they generally find out who's a medical stuffing. Ask them if you go in the bank and they name on and then they'll send you emails out, which I'm sure many of you probably already signed up for. But I send emails out saying these just a free clinic over them. This is the rape. So working is an internal locum their fees, their rates that you get paid a generally non negotiable because they're a lot more with that quotas and fees. But actually, if you find a good trust, um, that really needs the staff you can get, you can actually get better paid and external locum. So I'm what I soon realizes up a picture job doing extend. Locum was getting paid, all right? And then, actually, when I spoke to Mom or sort of trust of working before they were willing to pay more money, someone, they were really desperate. They were escalating the fees to like 60 or 70 lb on our I must something to think about if you're not bothered about location. So if you want to stay in London, you might not be able to get these rates because there's a lot more competition, lot less local shifts. And but if you consider coming north, then there are places that will pay you 60 or 70 lbs on our, um and you could do a 12 hour shift on Earned a lot more money for new warden. A normal working. Well, because in half one or enough to cause satisfies to say, um, some just have their own. So off Imitrex is some just have their own APS. So really good app that might just use was patched. Work on it, sign up. You give them a few details on Basically, and the after shows all of the bank ships available kind of generally of the next month, you click a button to say, yet I'm keen. It's in the direct directly to medical staffing, and then within a day or two, they've accepted you for the shift or declined. You seen exactly. If you work and you know exactly what you're being paid on, do they tend to pay you month thing and was external? Locals tend to pay you weekly, and so I'm just gonna take a kind of pause now and just see if there's any questions or say for Christmas a chip in a little bit about his experiences and work is an internal locum Thanks a lot. And that was all really, really great. Um, my experience, I only did internal Oh, coming from I have three year. So I don't have any experience of external locum in purely for some of the reasons that you already mentioned. I want a complete flexibility with how many days I worked. And when I worked, um, I wanted to stick a trusts that I knew already just because I knew the systems, the i t system. It didn't appeal to me moving from a different trust, potentially between different weeks and having to get to grips with where all the ward's are and all of that kind of boring stuff of How do you you know, if there's a computer system, do you have a log in? Just to struggle with that, you have to spend four hours on the phone, So I t I I like just sticking out the to trust. So I do it in my one in half two year, um, locally North Med, where I did most of my shifts, used one of those ups they actually use. One called Low comes nest, which is fantastic. It's really, really good, or the shifts are listed on there. You can submit your time. She eats really easily. It was just incredible. You could see all the shifts that they needed for memory is different jobs. Um, and the other thing was again I kind of, as you mentioned, I got sick of all the emails from the external from the local agencies I signed up with Medoc on day were great with getting in touch. But as someone who really wanted to do the kind of minimum amount and get the most money that I could for for working, you know, minimal shifts, I just didn't want to have to deal with all these e mails on do the text, especially when is this A dealing with North men in particular in the AP was really easy. It was just much easier for me to stick with that. Yeah, I think that's a really important point, because yeah, it's great if someone says to you he could work 60 lb on our But if they email you every day and call you every day and persistently Nike. You just get annoyed at them even though you just doing their job on sometimes you like. Actually, if I think all this happen, it says 50 lbs on our I know exactly where I'm going. It tells me the war tells us location. We could submit the time she and I never get paid on time then, actually, I was sort of sometimes the same. It was like I'd rather do this on. Sometimes you end up sending Maury mails back to him to stop contacting you and which just does kind of become a vicious circle. Then you kind of think I'm wasting lots of time telling them that I don't want to work when it could just be doing myself exactly. And I think that maybe sometimes the internal locum stuff is low coming in itself. Taking a locum year for an F three can be quite scary idea. You're going into something where you don't have a set job on your gonna have to work off your own back and and sort out your own jobs, internal looks or external. Oh, coming sometimes seems like the less scary choice because you've got someone doing the work for you, and it's kind of graded, um, anxiety about things where internal low comming is like the peak anxiety where you have to. So all of your shifts, and if you don't, you don't get work and you don't get paid My experience off it was it was incredibly easy. And I don't know, maybe that was because of the places I worked. But generally speaking and HS hospitals need staff to cover shifts every day. Ondas, particularly if it's a trust that you've worked out before and you know the rose a coordinator. No, only can you make sure that they get in touch with you. If they have a shift going, they can escalate. I escalate rates pretty easily. I found a T's too much, the external locum right. It's, um, and again, generally speaking, you're on my three year I was getting kind of 45 50 lbs an hour, which for a London job is is fantastic. I think you have to. I think billing those relationships with the road team is really important because actually, if use if they're willing to pay 50 lb from external locum what they're really paying a 60 lb 10 lb goes the agency and 50 lb goes to the extent locum. So if you negotiate and say I want 55 kind of our that technically saving money, even you think you're getting good deal. They're trying to play you also. Actually, they're saving with me as as things when when? But I also like the I mean, I worked in quite a few different apartments. They did a lot of e d to begin with. And then I did some surgical stuff and so medical stuff, and I got to pick the areas that I wanted to work in. Um, Andi, you do? If you do regular work at the same place, it feels more like you're part of the team. You're still kind of get shuttle to wherever or whichever words that you want. But again, having worked those hospitals previously, I already knew people. They're already knew the consultants, so I would have felt like part the team on on top of that, working regularly at the same hospital in the same kind of jobs. Yeah, you feel part of the team again and you could make friendships and you can see people that you know, uh, which again is something that I think some people worry about Just local me. Because, you know, you're afraid that you are just gonna be, uh, filling a gap in the rotor, which you are, But that doesn't necessarily mean that you can't also be positive. Yeah, and so I guess I'll just tell you a bit more about what I did. So when I first started, um, in August, I think I probably like a lot of people, felt that pressure from an external locum agency that signed up for I felt the pressure of, Oh, in a week's time, I'm gonna have no income whatsoever. So I knew I didn't want to work full time. I wanted to work part time. I wanted to have lots of experience, E. But I was like, Oh, actually, I don't have any money. I have a job. And so I took a part time external locum job which paid, all right, I think public 40 45 parent hour, and that was kind of that balance. So this was a geriatric medicine job. So it was two or three days a week, and it was kind of covering someone else's 50% on. That was kind of, well, Christian saying sort of bridge. And when I got to work on the same team, the same department, and get to know them and they treat me as I was part between So there is the option Skip to do that as an external locum and but then kind of as the time passed and I realized I actually wanted even more flexibility and you can extend like, um, say actually on a more contracts until May. But I want to quit in March. We can do that. You can tell them cause you're completely in control. And But I started to realize, actually, the internal locals were close to my house and I could just pick them up as and when I didn't feel this pressure to to keep going or trying to make myself and have a team and talk to new people the time and which is what you have to do when your external local and this kind of goes onto that walks the day in the life of a locum. So an internal Okay, um, you might know the team already. It's really easy. You pop into work, you give 100 being exactly where you're going. An external locum might be driving to a new city driving to Newtown, not finding anywhere to park or having to pay for parking on. Yes, you're learning more money, but it's still annoying kind of phantom. It's park paying for it, um, trying to find out the location which your shift a few days before. So you might say, I'll take the medicine shift on, but they didn't really tell you where that's going to be because they're sale. We just find out in the day, and that could be quite anxious Time for you, like we quite stressful on. I was trying to let it be stressful, but this is what happened with Lochman. You have to kind of, and it's lots of fun, lot of flexibility. But sometimes when your new place it can be a little bit intimidating, and there's always going to try to find out where you are a couple days beforehand and ideally gain I t access, which is always a struggle in the NHS. I think the last three years alone of use, like seven different computer systems, which is crazy, have not even been in seven different trusts. Um, Andi, inevitably, it won't work, and then people can be a bit we looked into that you love in as a local because they don't know if they trust you so much. Um, and they don't want you up to same. It is a little bit work off your back trying to eat more people before you start shifts. Like, can I have access or will I have access a while? And what when I start And then normally what happens is you come in for a or half a and I t doesn't start work till nine. Half nine. And you there was a little committee trying to help. And you've never been there before and you can't sign into anything. And you just have kind of hold husband, say, like, this is not my fault. I come to help. Things do eventually get sorted. It could just be a bit painful, but that's why it can be nasty with least a couple of shifts in one hospital. So even if you want to go around the country, different hospitals is nice. Food. More than one shift sometimes because you have a little bit of an idea what's going on. I'm and then in the morning it's just not really, really friendly and asking everyone. So find a point of contact. Find the person is on call. Write down the names on the sheet paper. Make sure you've got the BLEEP. Find out what I'm Dave Rays. Um, you will be late lots of times when your local, because you we went turned up to work late. You'll just have had no idea where you're supposed to be on. Nobody told her It's not your fault. So actually, just trying to be really friendly really approach ball. Talking to people about that kind of softens a lot. Those blows on it means that they feel like they're contort. He was a doctor, and they might trust you. Interest your clinical advice and find out local protocols. So lots of the mirror on the Internet. Or you might know your local protocols from your trust that you've worked into. That's coming like a safe and safe thing to kind of fall back on if you like also, ones come in with chest pain, but I can't quite remember what I gave her. An m I and the tresiba mother in particle. If you followed you along with trust protocol, you went there for room. Um, if you really unsure, just ask you just a bit different people would much rather you ask us alone, comedian. If they find annoying, then you just do something really wild, Marquis. And then we'll never get him back up there again. And? And one piece of advice once said to me, which I took really took a bullet was just practice safe medicine. So don't rock the boat. So even if you know the latest research or the latest thing they're doing in your hospital, whether that's in London with that's in the needs, but they don't doing that local trust, they might be very sitting there ways. And it's not that you're wrong, because you might be right. But sometimes, actually, it's about not rocking the boat and just trying to get along with the people and kind of then slowly saying, Why do you do this way? Or candy teach room? I do. It's right. Or have you heard of this local research or this national breeze? It on these the ways that people are doing it rather than just saying this is my treatment plan. This this, this and this and then coming on saying, you know, we don't even have that machine or that test here. So, um, just be safe, Don't do anything crazy is a locum because if things go wrong and you're the first person I blame, which is really unfortunate, But it happens. And that's more so. If you and external they come in an internal, okay? And on. Just don't be pressured into doing things that were pressured into making decisions that you're not comfortable with. Not sure, just ask, just because you're local, we shouldn't treat you differently. People will do, but they shouldn't treat you differently. And so if you're not sure about something, don't don't do it. If they say conceptus person for a procedure and never seen, just don't do it on. But then you have lots of fun and locum because you met me. Lots of people. There's a lot of new cities. You could make lots of money very quickly that Chris he only would have to work a few days a week to make a lot of money so I could work too long days a week on Do not have to work for another week or I could decide to do a four week work. And I might do 45 long shifts in a row, depending off that broke the contract and then just take three weeks off work on it. It's really nice, and it's really flexible and locally. So the thing people ask quite a lot about is what about the portfolio on a A CP when you're low comming? So, um, there's lots of put photos even years. You can pay off 50 100 lbs to get access to portfolios online. Um, or you can, um, get in touch with the Royal College that you're thinking of going and especially that you get into, like, well, carb college of ob sections of gynecology on Do you can contact them to see if they will give you access to their portfolios for a set feet. If not, you can just actually do you go medical port failures and can you sign yourself up for them? And they work very much like the NHS portfolios that used to information training and the cooks of local like is everything is on your own back, so you have to govern urine evidence. You have teo collector and evidence, and you have to document your own evidence. So there's no people getting your forms. Nothing. No, I'm telling you should do this. That me of the You just have to use your knowledge from your previous years kind of give you an idea of what should I do? What my looking for on it's generally things like many cats is CBDs the case basis cushions and the skills you learn and it teaching or courses get this difficult and just keep a folder of the money laptop. So even if you've not got a portfolio online, a log in a word document or PDF, or especially that says, this is everything I've achieved this year, the joy, though of low coming and doing enough three years, you can actually not due portfolio. So if you don't want to do put very oh, you don't have to. Now most people will tell you you have to. You don't have to, so you actually don't need to do put Vario. You can have a year without doing a LCP. So if you don't do medicine for a year, you don't need to do an a R C e p. Um, you can get away with having a year without it when it gets Celexa of two years. Three years. That's different because you to revalidated to show that you're progressing and being SCP. But if you're just gonna do it, if three they're going to training, you actually don't need to do any of this. Most people will do some of this because it benefits them for job, infuse it benefits and going forward. But if you really don't want to do it and you just want to show off the medicine, you can go to work a locum, have a nice time to take your money, leave work five PM and enjoy this week. So don't feel like you have to do it. You don't, um, and then that's the portfolios. You build your own evidence, keep a log of everything I was saying to be organized about it, and then it all comes out gently. A r c E p. So that's normally once a year on. Do this, if you work internally, would be someone from your internal choice that would offer you in a C p. That's generally free. You're not necessarily often, Air CP. If you're just doing a few at talk locals. But they're quite frankly, they would. Oh, through an XL agency, they will offer you in a CP. And it might be a condition of you to continue employment. Is that you do in a RCP with your extent like, um, agency. And I don't have Chris. You didn't ask the appeal. Can't portfolio all in your left. Three year. I was just about to ask you what you did, so I didn't keep a portfolio per se, so I didn't have any and pay for any portfolio did do. Now, CP, I didn't either, Um, s So I think this is, too, because everyone always hairs about keeping portfolios in years out and have threes and stuff. I know. I think this is quite good that we're both I hope neither of us did. Because it does show that Yeah, as you say, you don't need to is one of the few times or the only time really, that you don't need to go, and I don't think that was necessarily any reason why I didn't, um I just kind of found that was already a month in. And I hadn't started anything out on because I just realized that it was an option on day. Just fancy taken a break from all the paperwork and things. It's so nice not actually being. I have to get enough and you just call it. It gets about in your shows on enjoying the medicine that you do and take the options are. And interestingly enough, the only reason I did in a CPA is because a pound on continuing and externally local I wanted to keep the option open in case it didn't have full. And I wanted to work abroad in other places. So that's the only reason I didn't call CP not because I have to. And so air CPIs through exam like babies can cost a lot of money. Someone there were like, 500 lbs, but actually, um, external okay, disease often offer scheme, so if you work 50 hours, it gives you 50 credits and 50 credits is the equivalent of, like 50 lb towards your CP kind of thing. So if you work 500 hours. Then you're asleep. He will be free. So then, at that point, it's not really fabric pounds, but that's just something to be aware of. I'm and generally the Ercp said the reason I could do an acidy and not keep put photo is, um, you might have really seen this because our CPC Foundation training a very much in house book. It's his mag form that you basically fill in on day is someone will send that we can do the little pdf she and you fill out your details you PDP's. You can make up just a personal development plan. But the most important thing about this mag for Ms is all reflection based on Do, um, you just write about your experiences. He don't actually need a portfolio to show you got three things signed off for three skill signed off. You actually just write about a one. Reflect on it on it all about reflective practice, and that's what they're killing. So this is how I got away with not doing a portfolio on D. Basically didn't. They are sippy on day fill that was formed a couple weeks before I did it, which Maybe it's not the wisest thing to do. What? I didn't care. Um, I just needed to pass it. So you just fill out letter affections on D? And if you're good enough infection like Okay, fine. And so that's just a basic I wonderful. So it's generally, um, kind of in turn low coming external opening in a nutshell, on diffuse any questions and let me know. And then I've just got a little bit about what I did when I decided that I didn't want a local anymore. And my point is really come stopped working. So I did start working. I worked just under six months, and then it got to sort of February and I was like, I don't want to work anymore. I want to travel. We were still unlocked out on the pandemic, so I couldn't do that. So I was like, Oh, we do. And it's a few months before with some of the money I saved, Uh, May Madonna actually decided to do something a bit different. So for me, it was about taking some time away from medicine. Um, it was making me think about what makes me happy. Don't really like medicine? Yes. Don't know what I want to go into. Was kind of thinking I didn't know that point and actually didn't want some time to kind of sign it. What enjoyed outside of medicine. And then how could work that into my working life whenever we start training And, um well, I entered is injured by comfort from So this is my old 20 world company on the ball. I mean, it was named Ivan and basically spend six months well spent, a couple of doing, I've nothing, then spent the rest of me and living in my room. Um, so that was something different, so I couldn't really travel. But I was like, Oh, could get Van could still have from the UK, Could travel on your a potential if the borders open. They obviously didn't, But it's still really nice to have that freedom on. Do something a bit different that I never thought I'd do it. Never thought by a ham. Never thought I'd learned how to convert on and learn those of life skills and other skills. Um, and this was all essentially funded through all that money and used as safe as I was looking, Um, but this was kind of all about planning ahead, so I knew that I wanted to stop working. I didn't have. How long for I knew that if I wanted to restart working again, I could fall back on my internal locals on the external. It comes, And on day I decided I didn't want to go back to work until I got a job, a training job or until I decide to restart locally in about the summertime July August. And so I plan for occult off six months, so I'd have to think about this a bit early. Wanted to start my three and thinking, if I want to have six months Powell, where I'm not running any money, all that I need to think about how many local shifts I want to work, to save enough money so I can live off that. And so it's a little bit of planning ahead. But the nice fall back is even always pick up a locum shift, and you could still have a month away and then just pick week. Look, just just the top, you bank pants back up, and but it's just thinking about how you find yourself, how much money just don't think I spend in a month? Um, say that's 1500 lbs. Actually, you could make 1500 lbs by doing two weeks of local work. So if you did a month of local work, you could probably live for 23 months. If you were wise and you were and it comes up that had and kind of get part time. Jobs aren't medicine. Don't I do something different? We'll do something really like mind coming to talk me up to keep me going and then just start to think about doing 12 pi for training next year. Because if you want to apply for training, it's remembering that this an application process that kind of starts in November, December and this interviews on monkey do and then thinking like what you willing to sacrifice. So you're having lots of money. But if you're going to stop working, what the kind of quick to comfort so we'll start to kind of have and build up for me a little bit of money. Enough one, too. What can I go about sacrifice to mean? I don't have to work for a bit, and then this is just partway through converting are found that we painted and here it's a West I saved up. Some money we bought was fun, and then we start spending money on the van. But I was also, like Arkan work few days locum, and then I could spend a few days doing this that I never thought do, and then you really think about Do I need really need to pay from damage to cover? It's still working. That's an absolute must see most you that you have to have that legally practice. But I do really would be, um, a membership. Probably know Don't really need that student moral college membership that took out probably know. Do you really need to keep paying into manages pension? Probably. No. If you have noticed the money isn't worth coming out of that, that's kind of a different ballgame. But you don't have to ever says you have to do the things we Joan. So I say if you want to save up 6000 lbs and you want to go fly around the world, you don't need to be paying into any chest pension because you'll be working long enough that you will pay into your pension. So it's just something to think about and that and this is our plan after opinion. But all on being in performance and the beauty of living in a van is actually is we traveled around. I could pick up local shifts anywhere in the country tends out. I didn't want to do that because I just kind of decided I want to complete break from medicine. But that was the option. Really great option could do. And then this was off. What we lived in on Talk Me Last things know about medicine. But I actually lost things I could live without. House live in a small space, how you interact with other people, what's really important to you and then kind of skills outside of medicine and not doing medicine for a while. Really. Actually, I think helps so off. I took some of those skills into my training and into my job, and it was nice abs and timely to think about things, um, a life. So the last thing to really say is low coming, and there's lots of options you can, and lots of money. It's very, very easy to get shifts. Some shifts is stressful, but most of time, you know you can just go home and you don't have to come back to work tomorrow. But do very mind that it's not a steady income. So think about having a little bit of money in case something goes wrong. You know, work or especially come back to work in August. If you have been low coming, do you have enough money? Because all this is always when your Gemzar license becomes Alley Indemnity. Cool comes out. Your DBS of it comes out, you move location and then lots of ground deposit and bills and things. And so just remember saving that money back book again. If you have the time, pick up a few local just will generally cover these things, and that's mostly what I have to say. And so I had a nice time. I had six months out of medicine. I had a nice time living in. My mom drove around all of the UK, never made out the country but still visited some really beautiful places. Um, on I apply for training halfheartedly, knowing that I wanted to go into this training program, but like a lot of people will tell you never expect him to get your first choice job, and then sometimes when you do it surprises you and then you can turn it down. And then I didn't want to turn down by that point in time on and start my training job. So I think things happen for a reason. But there's always options and alternatives on. Also, if you apply for a job, it doesn't mean you have to accept the job. So going through the application process of learning curve in itself and you gain experience on I'm. If you turn down that job, someone else will happily snap up that job. And you might still get the job next year or a different job or different opportunities. So and you can always change your mind. And that's a good thing about low Coming is so much flexibility that you're not tied down to anything, and that's what I really enjoyed about it. And rash is a very quick, broader review of low coming in my three year, so just stop, share my slides and if there's any questions from anyone off and what's the added anything, then that feel free. Thank you so much that when that was fantastic, really, really good. Um, I had the exact same experience. Taking my three and doing a locum was exactly what I needed, exactly what I wanted. After going through School University a F one F two, I needed a break and all I wanted out of that year. Um, was it ever break from medicine to work less be off the the road the treadmill of, you know, training. I think it's a really good point to think with this. What do you want out of the year? Because it is a unique opportunity to really focus on what you want to focus on. You know, you can easily only work two or three days a week and have so much more time to focus on something outside of medicine, a different hobby, a different skill if you take a little bit of time and just think what my goals for this year, you know, I've got this opportunity that might never have again what the woman's got out of it. For me, that was a say, um, doing, uh, working a lot less doing some charity work, revising for my MSR a. Making sure I did really well enough for the GPS sample because anyone who is thinking about doing the MSIR a few score beyond a certain cutoff point. It might change now, but you they need to have to do interviews so you can go straight to your job and you have to worry about that. So one of my main goal is for that was toe do really well on the MSR a on day because I was only working three days a week, I could or you know towards the end of it, I had so much more time to revise. I could take a whole week or two just to revise, not enough to stress about doing at work. Then afterwards, I also I was planning on doing a lot more traveling, but I did my integrations All right. F three between 2019 and 2020 obviously 2020 for the ky brush on things. But in the end, I ended up pick it up. Work on a covered would that was 9 to 5 Monday to Friday, kept me busy during code it. It was really good money. And then I still have my weekends. I never did on calls. I never did anything past five o'clock. Um, and in a time with her, a lot down it was it was perfect. Um, I guess I didn't keep a portfolio. I kept over the pension purely because I didn't really know enough about it to stop it. Obviously, there's the option with that on d again. Yeah, there's the opportunity to kind of move around different areas. If you don't know what you're going to do, you can work for a little bit. You can do some shifts in need it. He can do some shifts on surgery. You can do some shifts in hematology or all these different areas, rather than being locked into a training post for 4 to 6 months. You can jump between all these different things and get better taster on, then also do shadowing or do whatever you want. It's really your year to play around with. And for me, that was exactly what I wanted. Um, one thing I wish had been a bit more Congress in off was the tax windows because, um, if you work there's that different tax brackets, and if you work over a certain amount, it can push you into a higher tax bracket on. Then if you plan ahead, is it? Is it really worth going that slightly higher tax bracket for that money? Because you might actually make less. So that was something I would probably looked into a little bit more. Yeah, doesn't really one point, actually, and that's not say so with my external Locum said. My internally was wall through my APP store. Had it nice in my phone. But all my external incomes are capped. A spreadsheet, which some may say is very organized but actually import those. But I worked up hourly rate now is getting paid. The hours I worked, and then I put how much I expect to get paid and then import how much I expect to get taxed. Onda. What often happens is when you start like mean, you'll get tax a 40% regardless because you'll still have your F two job on your on, like eight months record on. Then you either kick up a fuss about it or you accept that it's 40% on, but, um, in my case and getting a really big tax rebate in April, which is when I stopped working, which was really good. So you can do that. But Chris is right. Actually, sometimes if you work 1000 hours on and you get taxed 20% but you work 1000 1 hours to get tax 40% it's not worth taking a extra shift. And it's just something to think about. Uh, shit on the top of the task that the page up from working five days a week and said if I was not that much you to enter in that, uh I mean, obviously depends how much you're making on the different rates and stuff. But sorry, my headphones that just died. Have you can still hear me. Um, yeah, it all depends, but it's definitely worth keeping an eye on it. I think the spreadsheet idea is fantastic. Locally, all of mine were through this up. Really? So it was very easy for me to go back in time for every week. I would get my paycheck. I would make sure see how much I got paid compared to my pay check. Make sure the taps was right. I kicked up a force right of start to get myself on to the right tax amount. Um, but yeah, if you work, if you decide to work a lot of locals could you just want one on a lot of money? You could earn 100,000 around in a year, so that doesn't matter. You just gonna get tax at higher anyway, So just do it when I was you want. But if you're thinking you're on that cost off, I don't want to work three days a week or five days a week, and then you work five days a week. And then you realized being taxed so much Monday, actually, Yeah, that's when it's not worth it, That's all. Uh, I've got a question is, well, even deep. Um right. I'm writing thinking if you know after you're f three, you want to start your training? IGP Do you have to apply for the training program at the start of the local year? So there are different cutoffs. I don't know what it was awful. And you presume it's similar, but the GP um, there are a few different cutoffs. For when? Because it's two exams to exam dates during the year. Um, there's also to kind of starting points through the year. And if you just go on to the relevant um yeah, websites on the RC GP, for example, they can tell you the cutoff point's for applications and exam dates. So most specialty training programs is only born application process that admits most people to the specialty. There is second of our secondary application processes, but they that's when they started a group Overseas candidates and Suction Jeep. He's really good, and you can do some of that January time on your like August intake. But most specialty training, it's you interview process or your examine process or whatever is is generally over sort of December January, time to then start job in August. So it it's worth thinking about the stuff after a year. If you want to apply, I would say if you're not sure why, anyway, because you can always not kind of not continue application process. But if you then get to kind of January, you think I hate Look, I hate not having a schedule and you want to apply and you've not been application process and I think what we're gonna do for another year until next year and then you said, is well, they look the actual process of applying it going through the, uh the experience is good, even if you don't get the job of the end of it. I did a very similar thing with the M s r a. I took the half because I think one in September or November or something, there's one. And then there's the actual one that starts you in August that you take in like January February. And I took the first MSR a to get an experience off it because it was free. I didn't really do any revision for it, but I wanted to be able to walk into my eye exam in January and know what it was about and know what to expect. And I think that really, really helps me. Yes, I think, um, there's another question. So locals come be a good first job if you're if you've had overseas internships. I think if you have not worked and then it just before you might want to choose a low, come in one department for a few weeks and get some consistency. Haven't been doing one day here one day for that would probably be the best way to go about it. But they're really good for you to get an idea of how. Then it just works. How surgery works for medicine works whether you like it. You don't like it, whether it's completely different, what you're used to. And there's a bit less pressure when you're local because you've not got commitments. Portfolio commitments. You in your day today. Yes, you have to do the service provision, but you can actually ask like this is new to me. How do I do this? Or can you explain why this is this to the company? Really good option is to just write things out and get used to the system without the pressure of being like, you have to do all of these things. All of these patients in the training program. It's also so much less stressful. I think being a locum because with different kinds of stresses of those, if you're working in a new trust on you don't know the areas and you know of the system and you got to spend an hour to t That in itself is is stressful. But there is a lot to be said about going in knowing that you're locum on that. You are only there for two or three days in that week. Onda. It's Wednesday today and what we're looking tomorrow I am here to help on. Do we do is much as I possibly kind but five o'clock pending an emergency I finish your home and none of this will matter, I think. And another really good tick I would give you is if you're thinking of that starting low coming. Don't take holidays. August start low coming in August Assumed you finish because all the new doctor there. So we all look like idiots all the same time. We all have no idea that you kind of get used to what you do. And then you can like midway through August, End of August, take few weeks off, but then you can come back in September back. Actually another system. Um, all same December when, like the foundation twenties, rotate around that you don't have to start looking jobs them. But if you want to switch around to try something new, they're really good time to start a little ideas. Always half of people are on training days and in thinking, So you get pretty good rates on the Wednesday Thursday Friday following rotations. Um, I was found like people were desperate for shifts. And the other thing is, Well, I mean, you know, depending on what you do with low comes and stuff, holidays and things that like if you want to work around about Christmas and stuff, you can make absolute bunk. Um, there's there's definite pros. Do it. Yeah, you can even say I want Pressman's often enough three weeks off. But sometimes you actually think, Oh, actually, I could be in the Caribbean for a whole month in January and work Christmas and four grand in really short space of time Pay for the whole holiday. Yeah, I was getting emails on Christmas Day from one of my trust, and it started off. They I think they were offering 60 lbs to begin with, and then I got a phone call or from the 80 lbs, and then later on, then today they were saying, Name your price. Unfortunately, I was already working, but it's, um yeah, that's kind of how it goes. Uh, another quick question. Did you find there are a wide variety of different specialties you could pick shifts him. So there's always medical shifts. Always, always, always, always. Medical shifts. Um, de de de found is well, yeah, always the day shifts. They might not always be your most fun shifts. You might work really hard, know ships, but there's always medicine. Shifts on your be guarantee you're shifting got to pay. There's actually also lots of surgical shifts because it always generally need a house officer to do something on. Then, if you, um, it could be a bit harder to do certain specialties if you've not worked in that area before. So sometimes some hospitals, any D they say you can't work need if you're not before. But that might say, If you're willing to work a week with less pain or shattering someone, then you can work in our department. Or if you've done a specialty and foundation like psych abs and Dina Pedes, then you could do all of those jobs. But generally, I mean, maybe no one week, but the next week that always be something different. Medicine surgery, special tape is bull was options. I had the exact same experience on sometimes it's a little bit if, uh, holding your nerves. And sometimes you're like ours know shifts. I want this week and then suddenly I'll get to their saying. Then we'll be up two shifts and they're like, Oh, actually, I pick up their shifts trying with the last minute Generally the rates of Esther as well, and you can make so much money banking if you've done a couple of weeks wave works, you know, three or four days a week off the worst thing in the world again. If you know what, you want to go out this year and you have other things to do, other things to focus on again. You do you do. You got so many opportunities. Yeah, it just gives you that scoping that expertise, being like I am my money quicker. So I know I can live for the next month, and then I could spend time doing things from a portfolio, things, my training, things completely outside the medicine. Nothing. All have a nice that's what that's what my right, it's five past eight s something we're going to wrap things up here. Um, unless we have a more questions, I'll give a couple more minutes. I'm going to put in the chat now a copy to the feedback. I'll also arrange for the old to be emailed to use whoever new attended here. Um, skins and thank you again if you could make sure that you do. The feedback is really helpful towards. It's also really helpful. So Lauren and again, she's been really kind enough to do that great presentation and give us a time. I I will just put again the mental ship from a portfolio clinic. If he goes to the portfolio clinic dot com, you can register for a menti ship and get paid up with the mental Who can talk you through the, uh, application process for specialist obligations portfolio. How to prepare for interviews, all of this stuff again. It's completely free on this is particularly unique results that can really help you get into the specialist training that you want to get into. Um, I would say again, Thank you so much, Laura, Uh, tonight that was a really useful portfolio. Um, really useful presentation next week. We have the clinical arthritic and number two with Dr Mash. It was gonna be talking about his work. He did a neuro intestinal failure. Gee, I assume well as neurosurgery. So we tell him is all about working as a junior doctor in those areas, which is kind of the office as appose of the local math. Re having the SAT job for your three year. So I would love to see or their health that you couldn't make it. Um, we'll also record or below the recording of this talk to the event page. So if you want to really watch your any 0.6 of notes or share it with anyone that you know, that be great. Um and yeah. Thanks again. Thanks. You're welcome. So hopefully we'll see some of you guys. That's week. Take, uh, have a good night. Right. Good.