The Disillusioned Blog

BIG NEWS! Our First Virtual Retreat is going LIVE

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

12/07/2021

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

25/11/2020

I’ve now passed the dreaded three month mark in my new job! People say that the first two to three months in a…

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 junior doctor...

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…