Meet Dave Blythe…
What do you love about your job?
I would say there’s so much I love about Weston. It’s not a very big place, so you get to meet almost everybody, you know almost everybody. So it makes it easier for you to interact with people and then the patients here are very appreciative and then you do something, you think very little and then they are very grateful. Then you want to come to work the next day and do the same thing and keep, you know, doing it over and over again.
What are the challenges?
There are some challenges that I’ve faced since I got here, you know, moving from an entirely different continent to this place. There are a lot of challenges and one of them is trying to get used to the system. You know, it’s such a way that I haven’t been used to it and then trying to get used to it, it’s it was a little bit hard at the beginning, but just like I said, the support I got helped me get through it.
Secondly, sometimes, you know, as a doctor, sometimes you feel superhuman. We want to get everything done forgetting we’re humans, there’s no way you can do everything. And then sometimes I feel I want to split myself into two, three, four so I can get everything done. But then, at the end of the day, when you get the thank you’s, no matter how little they are, you know you’re trying your best and then basically having trying to interact with people from different backgrounds or culture, what you’re thinking your culture might be right, might not be in another person’s culture, so it’s trying to learn other people’s culture, trying to blend in that way has been quite difficult. But then the longer I stay, the better it gets.
Why do you love living in Weston?
Now, if you’re planning to come to Weston, I advise you to pack your bags and come along. Because here there are people from different parts of the world. When you get here, you know what I’m talking about. Think Weston first. My main reason for moving is to learn better. I know we’re lacking in technology, I want to learn better and do better and be able to be a doctor to anyone from any part of the world.
What advice would you give to prospective employees?
The support you get here as a new person is unimaginable. UK is a very nice place to learn as a doctor. I’ve learned so much in just eight months and I’m trying to imagine how much I’m going to learn in 1, 2, 3 years. It’s really a very good place to be.
So, hello? We’re waiting. Come over.
About the role…
Operating department practitioners (ODPs) work in three key areas; anaesthetics, surgery and recovery. In anaesthetics the role involved assisting the anaesthetic doctor during general and local anaesthetics.
In surgery the ODP will participate as part of the operative team, meeting a variety of patients from very small children to older adults and everything between and perform a number of roles, including the scrubbed role. In recovery the ODP will receive, assess and deliver patient care on the patient’s arrival into the recovery area. They will monitor the patients physiological parameters, providing appropriate interventions and treatment until the patient has recovered from the effects of the anaesthesia and/or surgery and is stable.
