Why choose haematology?

 

"I really like the continuity of care you get within haematology. I feel as though I have the opportunity to get to know the patients properly. It can be upsetting when a patient you have seen many times in clinic gets admitted with disease progression or relapse and subsequently dies, and sometimes the circumstances surrouding this are very emotionally draining; but it is rewarding to know that you have been able to take the time to understand the needs of your patient and their family so as to provide the best possible care."

 

"Haematology is fantastic for keeping up to scratch with your general medical skills. Patient pathways actively encourage direct admission rather than going via A&E or their GP. As a result, patients with underlying chronic haematological conditions can sometimes be admitted under haematology with apparently completely unrelated complaints - heart failure, bowel obstruction, arrhythmias, renal calculi - as well as complications from their disease process or treatment - disseminated fungal infections, neutropenic sepsis, colitis, pneumonitis, GI bleeding, acute kidney injury, encephalitis.....The transplant patients in particular are at risk of a wide range of complications that you would never see in immunocompetent individuals."

 

"I must admit I do like the fact that I now understand all the haematological cancers, chemotherapy regimens and clotting abnormalities that I used to find so complicated as an SHO. I think because most doctors don't get a lot of haeamtology experience it all seems rather mysterious. It's nice to feel that I can provide useful advice to other specialties when they call for a haematology review."

 

"There's a good balance of acutely unwell patients, some haematological emergencies - like TTP or APML - and other patients with chronic conditions who are doing well in the outpatient clinic. Although the inpatient work can certainly be exhausting and emotionally draining on occasion, the pathology is fascinating and there are so many new targeted molecular therapies, immunetherapies and chemotherapy agents on the horizon that it feels as though treatment options are evolving on an almost daily basis. There are loads of clinical trials taking place."

 

"There's such a wide variation in age - I see patients from their late teens on the specialist Teenage and Young Adult Unit through to patients in their 90s and everywhere in between. The diseases can behave very differently in different age-groups, and of course your treatment options can be very different too."

 

"As a consultant there is scope for subspecialising - haematopathology, specialist coagulation, transfusion etc - in a teaching hospital environment; or for being more of a generalist dealing with everything in a disctict general hospital."

 

"I have to say the fact that we don't have to do acute general medical on calls is a real plus for me. There are plenty of acute medical problems to contend with in haematology in any case; and although the 24 hour on call pattern can be hard, I still much prefer it to nights and shift work."