Starting life as a new doctor is tough. There is lots of work to do and a seemingly infinite amount to learn in a short space of time. Pressures come from seniors and interdisciplinary staff and also from patients. If you feel overwhelmed at times then you are not alone: all doctors have gone through this experience, and thousands more are going through it this month.
So much for tea and sympathy, what can we do to help? Our latest online learning resource is the BMJ Learning Foundation Programme. If you are starting out on foundation year one or are progressing to year two then this programme is designed to help. It tells you what's in the curriculum and syllabus and what exactly you'll have to learn and achieve over the following year. It also explains what forms you need to fill in and outlines how to do your assessments. But its most important offering is its learning resources. There are a variety of interactive video modules on the site to help you learn about different aspects of the curriculum.
You can learn about the care of acutely ill patients in our diagnosis module, which was filmed at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington. In this module you'll meet a variety of real patients with various illnesses and will be able to pit your wits against the medical staff as they establish what is wrong with the patients and start treatment. In the simulation module you'll find out what goes on at the simulation centre at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. You may get a chance to go to such a centre during your foundation years, but, as there are relatively few simulation centres, any time that you spend there is likely to be short. Following the lead from the aviation industry, our module enables you to test and train your emergency skills online, and you can do this at any time and in any place. To use the site you'll need a computer and broadband access to the web.
You can get all of this at http://bmjlearning.com/planrecord/foundation/index.htm. Let us know what you think.