The Blog
The Disillusioned Medic
Nowadays, venting your deepest pain to the internet is more common than talking to friends, but back in 2015 (I’m aging myself now!), it was far less standard practice. But a crappy little free WordPress site was where it all began. This was the OG Disillusioned Medic blog…
My first Virtual Retreat...
19/11/2021
Feeling stuck in your career? Want to make a change, but have no idea where to start? Join Disillusioned Medic Founder, Dr Anjalee Perera, for this live Deep Coaching experience…
Finding your why
1/11/2021
Lately I’ve been feeling lost. It can be hard to question your career as a doctor. The journey to finding your why can be difficult, but at the same time so rewarding…
Fear of failure: why I'm scared to quit med
21/08/2021
I haven’t enjoyed being a doctor for a long time, but I still haven’t quit. Why my fear of failure is stopping me…
Dealing with unsolicited advice
12/17/2021
When you’re trying to change career, receiving unsolicited advice from people around you is a common and infuriating experience…
Soundtrack to the end of a career
11/05/2021
One of the things that really helped me in that ‘psyching up’ process was music. I listened to the same songs over and over again…
The three month hurdle
25/11/2021
I haven’t enjoyed being a doctor for a long time, but I still haven’t quit. Why my fear of failure is stopping me…
I have a new job
27/09/2020
I was one of the millions of people all over the world whose career suffered a blow because of Covid-19…
Hallelujah
19/06/2020
Ok, so this is a bit embarrassing. On last week’s Real Reflective Practice on the theme of ‘Creativity’, I opened…
Chin up
29/05/2020
So last week was mental health awareness week. I feel like this year it’s come at a particularly poignant time…
Still waiting...
01/05/2020
So it’s been well over a month since I got the email from the GMC to tell my they’d reinstated…
Upcoming Livestreams
15/04/2020
Happy Wednesday all! Just a quick note to tell you I’ve got another THREE Real Reflective Practice…
Waiting for the call
09/04/2020
Day 19 of lockdown. I had a bit of a ‘moment’ today. I’d had a tough parenting day and it…
I'm doing a livestream about doctor guilt!
04/04/2020
REAL Reflective Practice for Doctors: GUILT Forget your e-portfolios for a moment…
20 tips on what to do if......
30/03/2020
With everything that’s been going on lately with Covid-19 – the insane rotas, the failure to protect staff…
Wanted: Leadership in the NHS
28/03/2020
I’ve been going round in circles this week. I’ve spoken to a lot of people. Including the Guardian…
Slapped round the face...
21/03/2020
It turns out I didn’t need to send that email after all. Less than 12 hours after I posted my…
The call of COVID-19
20/03/2020
Never, ever did I think I would ever see the day that I would consider returning to medicine. For the…
Doctor Me First
10/02/2020
I got interviewed on a podcast!!! Maybe it’s a bit sad to be as excited about this as I am…
Do I regret leaving medicine?
07/02/2020
Nadine got in touch to ask me whether I’ve ever regretted my decision to leave medicine or…
What is career progression like...
14/01/2020
I’m trying out video! On my Youtube channel, I’ll be answering common questions I get from…
The disillusioned medic is back!
07/01/2020
Hello and Happy New Year! It’s Anjalee here, the Disillusioned Medic, and I am delighted to say…
Farewell from the disillusioned medic
27/08/2017
August 27th 2017 Dear Readers, This will be my last entry on this blog – for a while, at least…
Should I quit medical school?
10/04/2017
If you’re unhappy at medical school, you face a bit of a dilemma: should you stay and slog it…
New job and new start...
02/03/2017
I have some news…I have a new job! I’ve been interviewing with a global management…
Crippled before the race begins: how the...
05/02/2017
Hello all, I wrote this yesterday after I went to Birmingham medical school for the day to…
12 months older, I must admit...
31/12/2016
So here it is, New Year’s Eve, and 2016 is coming to an end. It’s been a bit of a…
Tying knots and unravelling tangles
14/11/2016
Dear Readers, I can only apologise for my radio silence for the last couple of months. I do have a…
So...what do you do? Part 2
13/09/2016
I’m having a bit of a nightmare navigating the delicate social quagmire of speaking to another…
From Medicine to Media: my first...
21/08/2016
Production companies are always looking for attention-grabbing ideas and inspiration for TV…
Giving up my license to practice
05/08/2016
It felt so cool getting my full GMC registration. In a weird, geeky way it felt like the James Bond…
Which way to vote? My 5 main dilemmas
29/06/2016
There’s not long left to vote in the BMA referendum on the new junnior contract…but what is…
What we could have done...
08/06/2016
The last couple of weeks at work have been so busy in the run up to the company’s big biannual meeting…
Dreams and realities...
07/05/2016
It’s been four months now that I started my new non-medical job, and I think it’s time for a reality…
Sending a thank you to the junior doctors
26/04/2016
Today, for the first time, junior doctors went on a full strike. They’ve been backed into a corner…
15 tips: what to do if you want to quit
14/04/2016
Lately, so many of my old junior doctor colleagues have contacted me to ask for advice about leaving…
Guest post: what we signed up for
30/03/2016
I am so pleased to be able to publish this guest blog by River, writer of Hanging Round the…
It's as if I'm in the wrong body
15/03/2016
After the initial novelty of my non-medical career subsides, and I slip back into every day life, I’m…
The forgotten six thousand
08/03/2016
One of the benefits of writing this blog is that it’s given me the chance to meet other medics who…
Trouble in paradise...
28/02/2016
I feel very rested. I’ve just come back from a wonderful skiing holiday in the French Alps, and aside from…
10 things that medics in non-clinical jobs...
31/01/2016
So ends my first week as officially not-a-doctor. It’s been a challenging start; I’ve had to start at the…
Something unexpected happens...
25/01/2016
After my unsuccessful bid for the charity job, I renewed my search for work with vigour. Medic…
Job interviews and rejections
23/01/2016
“I’m really sorry, but they’re not going to offer you the job”. I was on my way to Sainsbury’s when…
The perks of being a doctor
13/01/2016
When you grow up in a medical family, you notice how useful it is to know a doctor. Our friends…
Striking doctors and healthcare innovations
13/01/2016
I can hardly believe it’s happened. Yesterday, for the first time in 40 years, doctors went on strike. I went…
So...what do you do?...
05/01/2016
December is the prime time for this question, or versions thereof. With everyone getting together for…
Officially unemployed...
03/01/2016
When I talked to my dad about my resignation, it was difficult to bear the disappointment in his voice when…
A New Year letter from my better self to me...
31/12/2015
Dear Me, This year, for the first time in perhaps your whole life, you have opened your eyes to who…
Hitting rock bottom - apparently you bounce
16/12/2015
It’s been two weeks since I stopped working. Two weeks sober. What a fortnight I have had…When I woke…
The dangers of ego...
04/12/2015
The other day, I was on my way to the Royal London Hospital to discuss my resignation with the Dean…
My last day...s
03/12/2015
On Tuesday 1st December 2015, we all thought it was the last day. Every four months, foundation doctors rotate…
The new contracts...
23/11/2015
A great deal has already been said about the junior doctor contracts row, so I will keep this short…
First forays into the literary world
18/11/2015
Having my mind on medicine for the last few years, I feel very out of touch with the literary…
The parental reaction...
07/11/2015
I told my parents about my resignation today. I cheated. I chose this weekend because on Sunday…
"Divorce" - A poem about the emotions...
04/11/2015
Although it’s getting easier now, making the decision to resign has been a long, drawn out process…
Why don't you just finish? Life on a conveyor belt...
03/11/2015
You’re 15 years old. It’s careers days at school and various people are giving you talks, presentations…
Alternative careers and wellbeing for doctors...
01/11/2015
I came across Medic Footprints in the way I seem to discover everything these days: Facebook…
The first day of the rest of my life
31/10/2015
Disillusioned with medicine, and tired of being a doctor, Anjalee resigned from the job in the NHS in Dec 2015…