Starting house jobs on the right footing

In July, anticipating the latest cohort of brand new doctors, newspaper columnists and medical journalists will be dusting down their “try to avoid being ill in August” stories. Expect to read better jokes, but remember those broadsheet readers are probably not the only ones who are worried. No matter how well prepared for life as a house officer, many medics in the class of 2002 will be anxious about becoming a doctor.

Preregistration house officers have much to concentrate on: consultants to impress, references to collect, and, most importantly, patients. As someone who will never have to face a first day at work as a doctor, I can relax. The stresses and strains of trying to remember all I have learnt over five or six years, and dealing …