I am an ST5 in Acute Internal Medicine in Wales and couldn’t be happier with my choice of career. I have a passion for all things medical and the AIM training programme offers great variety, is stimulating and is providing me with the opportunity to truly tailor my training to fit my interests. I am particularly interested in stroke and acute neurology and as a result will be starting a fellowship in stroke medicine in August.

As well as pursuing stroke medicine as a specialist skill, the AIM training programme has given me opportunities to develop several other skills. I have completed level 1 pleural training and am in the process of becoming accredited in focused echocardiography. AIM is unique in the breadth of training offered and rotations in respiratory medicine, tertiary cardiology and tertiary critical care have given me the chance to polish these skills.

Alongside these opportunities, I really enjoy the social nature of being an acute medic - we interact with almost all other specialties, members of the multidisciplinary team and rarely work alone. This is something that attracted me to the specialty and as a result I really enjoy going to work every day!

Outside of medicine, I love playing badminton and am an avid crocheter. I believe that Acute Medicine is the perfect fit for me and would recommend it to anyone as a career!

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I am currently an ST5 in Acute Internal Medicine in the West of Scotland. Initially, I found choosing a specialty challenging as I enjoyed almost every rotation during core medical training. Whilst undertaking a clinical fellow post in Infectious Diseases, I realised that the aspect I enjoyed most was the detective work and making a diagnosis. This was a bit of a “light bulb moment” - I realised it was the acute aspects of other specialties that I had enjoyed most. I applied for Acute Medicine and haven’t looked back – I love the mix of ambulatory care and managing more unwell patients in a dynamic and evolving specialty. 

One of the unique aspects of AIM is the opportunity to develop a specialist skill. There are plenty of options – there really is something for everyone! My specialist skill is point of care ultrasound, and I am currently halfway through the FAMUS programme. I am also passionate about quality improvement: I have always been interested in quality improvement and how that can provide real, positive change to patients, their journey through the hospital and the systems we work in. I am able to support junior colleagues in conceptualising projects as well as leading my own improvement ventures. Ultimately, I strive to see a repository of QI projects so that we can share learning and successes between hospitals and health boards.

I genuinely believe that AIM offers something for everyone and I look forward to sharing that enthusiasm with other trainees. Whether it’s the breadth of presentations, the practical procedures or the opportunity to influence the patient journey from the very beginning, every day is unique and rewarding.

Outside of medicine, I am a keen baker – I love trying new recipes and bringing the results into work. I am also a big musical fan and get to the theatre as often as I can!

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I’m an ST4 Acute Medicine Trainee in West Midlands, though arriving to this level required some consideration. Enjoying most rotations, I didn’t particularly want to choose one specifically at the time. Then, having accepted an ACCS Acute Medicine post, I became much more interested as this seemed to suit my personality best. The stints spent in ITU, A&E and Anaesthetics as part of ACCS were enjoyable, mainly because I was looking forward to applying the knowledge acquired later while on the Acute Medicine take.

I was once told that when choosing a speciality, I should look closely at the consultants and see if they are happy, helping and content. I was never more respected, supported, and happy along the way, than when I was rotating in Acute Medicine.

Any day spent in Acute Medicine is different, exciting, and certainly rewarding ,along with the challenges associated with improving the patient’s admission journey.

I have a day a week to develop a Specialist Skill, which for me is FAMUS (Focused Acute Medicine Ultrasound) and Echocardiography. I chose these because I am passionate about diagnosing which is practically what we do daily as Acute Medicine physicians.

Outside medicine I enjoy spending time with my family, friends, and our golden retriever.

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I am currently an ST6 in Acute Internal Medicine and General Internal Medicine in the Mersey Deanery. Having struggled to commit to one specific medical speciality earlier on in my training, I realised that acute medicine could offer the variability that I desired. No two days are the same - I enjoy being able to mix it up every week with sessions assessing patients in ambulatory care, on ward rounds, or spending time with acutely unwell patients in resus or enhanced care units.  I’ve really enjoyed the breadth of training  rotations in complementary specialities such as critical care and respiratory medicine.

I was fortunate enough to encounter some inspiring acute physicians early in my career, and I recall being in awe of the breath of their skill set during core medical training. I was particularly attracted to the self-selected specialist skill, which have allowed me to pursue my own interests within acute medicine during my protected self development time. I am interested in point of care ultrasound and I am accredited in  Focussed Acute Medicine Ultrasound (FAMUS), and I plan to accredit as a supervisor in the near future. I am also accredited in Focused Intensive Care Echocardiography (FICE), and frequently find that utilising these skills at the bedside enhances patient care.

The nature of acute medicine also allows you pave your own way in training, and I’ve also had the opportunity to do non-clinical work, such as being a Trainee Committee representative for my colleagues in Mersey, as well as being in the Health Education North West Leadership committee. I’ve also been fortunate enough to have exposure to the non clinical elements of a medical career - such as service development and teaching. This allows respite from the stresses we all face.

I’m a big advocate of maintaining a healthy work-life balance, and I love long dog walks at the weekend! I also enjoy socialising and travelling.

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I am currently an ST5 in Acute Internal Medicine in the East Midlands Deanery. I fell in love with Acute Medicine whilst training in Internal Medicine back in my home country of Bangladesh. This is where I realized just how important the first few days of a patient’s admission in hospital are and where I also realized just how massive a role acute medicine can play in ensuring a good outcome for patients by delivering quality and often life saving treatment to them during those first few crucial days in their hospital stay. These experiences of mine back home made me fall in deep love with acute medicine as a specialty, a passion which has only increased more and more as years have gone by.

I am of the strong belief that Acute Medicine as a specialty can make a massive difference not only within but beyond the UK as well. One of my main career aims is to play a part in helping to develop, promote, popularize and expand Acute Medicine as a specialty beyond the UK, especially to the developing countries of the world.

I have obtained a Pg Cert degree in Critical Care and I am also working as an RCP Associate College Tutor. I have authored a book called ‘Acute Medicine in Ward’, two editions of which have been published so far, which is meant to help young trainees in Bangladesh manage acutely ill medical patients with the local facilities available. I am currently pursuing a specialist skill in Focused Echocardiogram(FICE) and alongside that, I am learning Focused Ultrasound (FAMUS) as well. I also absolutely love teaching, especially the various topics on Acute Medicine.

Outside work, I love spending as much time as possible with my family and friends and love reading fiction. I am a big fan of Manchester United and try to make it a point that, work permitting, I do not miss a single match they play!

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