Houseplant
-
Posts
1,188 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Calendar
PW Shop
Posts posted by Houseplant
-
-
interesting post fortune. i do clean the gun and barrel after every use. can't say i've noticed that it puts the zero out.
-
Good post grrclark.
-
A question in which I am genuinely interested in the answer, do you think the BMA or other healthcare unions/affiliations/associations have failed to represent the junior doctors appropriately in the past where there has been an openly accepted and recognised practice of having junior doctors work excessive hours with little or no recognition?
It seems that we are now at a point of conflict that stems from a collective failing on both sides to address what is a long running and wider set of problems with the cumulative effect leading to this impasse.
Yes, absolutely, good post. There were significant changes in junior doctor training and organisation under the Labour government. The BMA were weak and the consultants just stood by and let it happen because it didn't affect them, then moaned about the consequences.
-
OK?
So the BMA suggest it cost a minimum of £269,000 to train a doctor.... (Actually up to £500,000)
I'm presuming you got paid during that time?
How were you abused for 6 years? (Harsh words)
Yes, you get paid as a junior, but not an awful lot given the amount of time studying and the amount of debt accumulated. Also, a significant proportion of my wages was spent on courses and professional fees for non-optional careers advancement. It was in the order of hundreds of pounds per month. See here: http://careers.bmj.com/careers/advice/view-article.html?id=20004902
The abuse comes down to too many hours unpaid and more to the point, unrecognised and too much pressure. With the best will in the world and a hard working attitude, you can't be in three or four places at the same time. Hospital management were entirely unsympathetic and senior doctors generally uninterested.
-
Good shooting too in NZ I guess? Yep, and he's getting free coaching and advice from PW members.
Haha! Yes and the fishing will blow your mind! I'm off chasing marlin tomorrow
Very grateful for all the advice received. Kiwis are a very practical bunch. Advice would be buy a rifle, buy some bullets, walk in to the bush, shoot a deer, butcher/cook/eat deer with a cold beer!
-
Apologies if I'm wrong.
The government subsidised your training then you ****** off aboard cos the grass is greener?
Are you paying any money back to the uk tax payer?
After 6 years of being abused in the NHS, I feel that my debt to the UK is more than paid off, so my conscience is clear. Regardless, doctors are people too and want the best for themselves and their families. I also want to work in an environment where I can do the best for my patients and not make bad/dangerous decisions because I'm overworked and exhausted.
I assume you have no problem with immigrant doctors coming to the UK from countries where their training is subsidised?
-
Would more senior doctors, consultants and specialists earn more?
I'd have more sympathy for the nurses who have an equally tough job to do but an obvious career and pay cap / ceiling.
NHS doctors pay is in the public domain which is a good thing: http://www.bma.org.uk/support-at-work/pay-fees-allowances/pay-scales
If you're really interested, you have to pay attention to the small print and appendices which can be quite difficult to interpret!
Re: Nurses, they do have a tough job, but there are many opportunities for career advancement these days. Nurses effectively form the middle and often, higher management in hospitals. On the clinical side, there are nurse specialists and consultants who are well paid and have a good degree of professional autonomy. Personally, I would like to see better pay for nurses doing the dirty work on the front line.
-
Bangerman. Thanks for explaining your view (and for being a doctor). Can you explain though who makes doctors work 90 hours a week? Some people say that their contract is for 40 hours and can choose to work more others say that there is no choice. Can you shed some light?
There are a few reasons, the main ones being 1) patient care - there is a job to do and if you don't do it, you know no one else will after you "clock off". 2) Expectations from more senior doctors. 3) Career advancement, either to impress seniors, get cases added to log books etc. Whichever one of these reasons, it is highly likely that you won't get paid for it, and it won't be officially recognised or even acknowledged by the NHS Trust that you work for.
Locum shifts are a separate issue. Locums are much more like overtime as most people would understand it. The pay for locums is good and it is generally your choice to do a locum shift or not. Having said that, I was certainly put under an awful lot of pressure to do locums in the NHS on occasions.
-
I was a junior doctor in the NHS. I'm moved (permanently) to New Zealand. Most of the close friends that are trained with are in Australia and one is in Canada. Take from that what you will.
A few points that get missed by the media:
1) The term junior doctor applies to almost every qualified doctor who isn't a consultant or GP. It does not apply to medical students. It is a broad term that covers a range of experience/competence. It is quite likely that a "junior doctor" will resuscitate you in the emergency department, perform your operation, administer your anaesthetic, treat your desperately unwell child etc.2) The extra money earned for working out of hours is called banding. This is where the government wants to reduce costs. Banding may be 0 - 50% of basic pay (sometimes more), but basic pay is low by anybody's standards. Regardless, particular jobs are banded and individual doctors have no say in how much out of hours work they do, or indeed how much they earn. It is not the same as over time.3) Hospital trusts routinely and possibly, universally flout the European Working Time Directive with respect to safe working hours. This may be done through administrative slight of hand or blatant lying. In addition, there are expectations on junior doctors from senior colleagues. This may mean working more hours than rostered with no extra remuneration. As a newly qualified doctor, I was doing an extra 2 - 3 hours per day unpaid and unrecognised.4) Junior doctors already provide a 24/7 service. However, I would concede that there aren't enough junior doctors working out of hours. In the same way that there aren't enough consultants, nurses (vitally important), radiographers, physiotherapists etc. The whole system needs restructuring and more money if you want good quality healthcare. The NHS is already one of the most financially efficient healthcare systems in the world.Everybody knows medicine is a tough career choice. It takes decades of study, debt, sacrificing family life and hard work. Yes, junior doctors are trying to protect their income and quality of life in the current dispute, but enough is enough. Jeremy Hunt should have used the carrot and not the stick in this instance. -
Ammo and barrel conditioning is critical
Just clean the barrel really well and rin dome groups at range watching for an improvement from squeaky clean then a drop off as muck builds
you may be on to something there! what i didn't say in my post was that when i started off a 100 metres i was hitting a 3 inch metal disc about half the time, as the day went on, it got worse just as you say.
-
Well done that man.
I envy you your nice little meadows. In East Anglia 200 acres is a meadow. Fields can be 5-600.
Flat as a pancake in most areas and very little cover.
cheers. hilly pretty much everywhere here. the meadow in the picture is on a friend's small holding which is 5 minutes from me which is convenient. unfortunately, no game to speak of apart from possums.
-
More practice today. It certainly does improve things. Was hitting a 2 inch metal disc 4 or 5 times out of 5 at a measured 75 metres. The yellow target is a piece of A4 card.
It all went to custard when I tried to push it to 100 metres. Drop was probably 6 - 8 inches on a 50 metre zero, but the groupings were horrible. Not sure what to blame for that. Probably my marksmanship, but it was all good at 25, 50 and 75 metres. Maybe the ammo? CCI Subsonics.
Anyway, quite happy with the progress. I know it if I get everything right, I should be able to take bunnies at 75 metres consistently which is what I set out to do with the .22LR.
-
good question. i'm starting to browse centrefires and love my cz rimfire.
-
True. Kiwis have a pathological hatred of possums. Yes, they are pests and do a lot of damage, but I have a sneaking suspicion it's mainly because they are Australian!
-
Nice write-up. Must admit I'm tempted. Only downside for me is the noise, especially in terms of bothering neighbours.
I have a CZ 452 .22LR. I'm no expert, but the trigger is pretty heavy and I have found that some of my shots go off to the right because of this as well.
-
A thoroughly enjoyable experience. Went to my friend's avocado orchard, he controlled the lighting, I did the shooting with my CZ452 .22LR. Harder than I thought it was going to be, especially in terms of judging distances. Bagged 5 rabbits, 1 hare and a possum (note I'm not in the UK!). A few misses, but the hare shot was tricky which made up for it. Not bad for a couple of hours.
I was pretty happy with the hare, my first. Didn't really want to shoot the possum as I only want to shoot things I'm going to eat (very much a personal preference), but this was about pest control.
-
If he's a stillwater angler, then perhaps a guided river trip would be something a little different for him. Sorry, I don't have any specific recommendations for your part of the world.
-
When you say no native animals I think you possibly mean mammals.
Yes, you're right. We have bats, frogs and lizards (no snakes), but no indigenous mammals. Suppose I really meant indigenous animals that you would be interested in hunting!
-
I have no worries about needing a silent shot and the ammo price is not a problem anyway so am I missing any positives to having a .22 as well?
I think you have highlighted the reasons for owning a .22, so if they aren't important to you, then why bother? Personally, I love the quietness of it. Subsonic rounds and a suppressor make it quieter than an air rifle!
-
MacBook Pro - I could go on and on, but bloody brilliant! Gave up on PCs after 20 years. Windows 8 was the final straw.
-
I have a 3-9 X 40 on my .22LR, bought on the advice I was given. Wasn't sure at the time because it seemed OTT, but glad I got it. To my mind, this would be a bare minimum for .17HMR.
-
Thanks for the replies, some food for thought there and differences of opinion. I've only just got my head around .22LR versus .17HMR for rabbit shooting! Not planning on buying a centrefire anytime soon, just starting to think about what I will need.
Re: location - New Zealand, goats in the far north where I live, deer in the rest of the country.
Re: deer species and range - highly variable, but obviously, I'll work within the limitations of the calibre that I end up with and my own skills of course.
Re: goat meat - I've heard it said that when you select a domestic animal for slaughter, you don't choose the oldest and the smelliest. same applies to wild goats, kids are meant to be very good to eat, whereas old billy goats need to be left alone.
-
Thanks. Local advice seems to be the bigger the better in terms of calibre.
-
As per title. It'll primarily be a goat gun, with the very occasional deer stalking trip, maybe once a year. Just started doing some reading and trying to decide between .243 and .270. Any thoughts? Note that I'm not in the UK and don't have to suffer issues with FAC limitations. Thanks.
If I won the lottery I'd.........
in General Shooting Matters
Posted
I've thought about this quite a lot because obviously it is going to happen! I'd go to Aussie, buy a big motorhome and tour the entire country over an open-ended period of time. It would take years and I would use the time to find a place I'd want to settle. The fishing and hunting would have to be good. I'd buy a decent boat and a berth and a small house.