DIARY AUTUMN 2009

Residential Report 16/17th Sept 09, Mickleton

We all met up at 6 (ish) on the Wednesday evening. We are now a large group (46 in total, although not everyone could make it for the residential and so we were about 38 in number). We had the traditional round of names followed by an exercise where we wrote down thoughts that were uppermost in our minds and popped them in an envelope to put to one side for the 22 hrs that we were together.

We then each wrote down a fact about ourselves, that we thought it was unlikely that anyone else in the room would know. During the evening it was our task to try and match the fact to the person. I have added this list to the end of this report (anonymised of course!), maybe those of you who couldn't attend the residential could try matching the facts to people on the VTS.

Steve then treated us to a talk entitled "How many P's in Nepal?" where he talked us through his recent trekking expedition relating his experiences to the VTS, education and personal development. This went down extremely well and the feedback later was universally positive.

After this talk we moved to the bar to explore "the hidden curriculum" and shortly afterwards had dinner. There was more hidden curriculum exploring in the bar after dinner when amongst other things we discovered the finer details of ovine sexual stimulation.

The next morning Steve had sadly had to leave us and after a short counselling session the group moved on to the business of the day. We had another brief round of names and then we each owned up to the fact that we had produced the night before.

Gilly then took us into the world of narrative medicine, showing a moving clip from Wit which demonstrated how it might feel to be a patient (and how not to consult in a hospital!) and sparked some lively debate. We went on to write about a personal experience as a patient and to discuss this in two groups, which again acted as a catalyst for deep discussion.

After a short break we explored the superficial reasons we sometimes use to make judgements about others and the way this might affect the consultation. We also discussed the assumptions and judgements that patients make about their doctors. We then moved on to the consultation carousel where we divided into a circle of doctors facing a circle of patients. The patients moved round every 10 mins so that the doctors had 3 consultations before the roles were swapped and the process began again. We hoped this would demonstrate to the patient that their scenario would feel very different with three different doctors.

After a brief plenary we broke for lunch.

We then went out for a team photo and a short walk through the countryside around the village.

On our return we discussed the VTS HDR and made one or two decisions about the structure by group agreement:

           1. The afternoon will start at 2pm with a discussion about one of the Nice guidelines which will have         been sent out in advance. This will be the responsibility of the organising group.

            2. The diary is to be discontinued and replaced with Aims and Objectives for the afternoon which will be sent to Chris in advance and published on the website, probably on the timetable page. It was felt that this was enough to act as a reminder for reflective learning and entry into the portfolio.

            3. The hot topic will remain as it is, ie 10-15 mins on a current topic or paper, allocated to a person each week in advance on the website.

We then went on to group planning and constructing the timetable, the groups working efficiently to produce a wide range of interesting topics for the next two terms.

Feedback from the group was sought and I am delighted to report that it was all positive, thank you.

We ended with a dance co-ordinated by Gilly and all in all, I hope you agree we had an excellent 22hrs, thanks to the effort and hard work put in by you all.

Sadly I forgot to remind you to pick up your envelopes and so I have shredded them for you, unopened.

I thoroughly enjoyed the residential (I think it was one of the best), I think we have an excellent group and I am really looking forward to learning together over the coming terms.

Thanks again

Chris

Fact sheet VTS Residential 2009

 - I’ve been to Palenque.

- I was tricked into eating a fish’s air sac/bladder (disguised in soup)!

- I am going for bronze medal in ballroom dancing next Saturday.

- We have got a tropical fish tank

- I cannot allow my duvet to touch the floor without a duvet cover on. I can’t touch a mattress without a cover on, making changing the bed very difficult and complicated.

- I had train tracks for a year when I was 13.

- My cat has FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) and so is kept indoors and is more prone to gum disease and eye infections.

- I’m half Austrian.

- I have done a sky-dive for charity despite being scared of heights.

- I have two birthdays (it was a long labour) so every year I have a 48 hour celebration.

- I have a flat screen TV that I want.

- I love to cook for others.

- I went to Wales this weekend.

- I went to see the men’s final at Wimbledon in 2008 when Nadal beat Federer.

- I had a full head of hair nearly 4 yrs ago.

- Once won a national book competition at primary school with my story about a magic flying carpet.

- I am dieting and getting nowhere.

- My great great great …grandfather is Michael faraday (the man on the £20 notes)

- I have met Terry Nutkins (the guy from the really wild show).

- I love my little one very much.

- Jamie Lee Curtis once bought me a coke.

- I won the 100m sprint at school age 14. Amazing how skills can disappear!

- I have 2 kids, ages 20 months and 20 days.

- I cheated in a mini golf tournament when I was 8 and ended up winning.

- I quite like my A&E job in WRH.

- I play the clarinet

- I have a tattoo on my right arm

- In the past week a ram has ejaculated on my foot as a result of me stroking it (in front of my in-laws to be).

- I recently had an audition for the weakest link.

- I’ve got new purple Wellington boots. They are great.

- My grandfather was a tax inspector.

- When I was younger I used to do fire breathing at parties.

- Despite my flaws I will endeavour to help those around me in confidence.

- I share a house with; a church pastor, librarian, computer scientist and a history student.

- I love to drive fast

- I’ve a terrible sense of direction – even with my Tom-Tom I took at least 3 wrong turns on way here …

- I have 3 kids

- I used to work as a dustbin man.

- I am running the Birmingham half-marathon on Oct 11^th.

- I am really a nice guy. I like to play the piano, the saxophone and the flute.

- I have 3 children and my eldest daughter is 19yrs old!

Course Organisers 

web designed by Chris Wilkinson, North Worcestershire VTS