Welcome back to week EIGHT of The Weekly Balance! I can’t believe it’s been nearly 2 months of this series – and that we’re at the end of February next week! It’s funny, I always feel like January is a long month, and then the year just starts to pick up speed. Whenever I remember this, I always try to be conscious of slowing down, taking each day as it comes, and being grateful for it. Here’s how my past week panned out.

What went on in my doctor life…

You know those weeks where you have lots of plans to get stuff done, and then it all goes to pot? Well, that was me this week. Because the 2019 Novel Coronavirus situation is evolving all the time, as public health doctors we have to be ready to react, as well as being proactive in our efforts to be prepared for further spread of the virus. So a lot of my current day to day work involves being part of those efforts, which is really fantastic experience for me as a public health doctor in her first year of training. Health protection is one of the four pillars of public health medicine (the others being health improvement, health service improvement and health intelligence), so the efforts to manage this outbreak really do represent public health in action. As I’ve said before, it’s very important that we all stay up to date and informed on this situation. Below are some trustworthy and factual websites to check out depending on what country you are from:

• The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (https://www.hpsc.ie/)
• The World Health Organisation (https://www.who.int/)
• The European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/home)
• Public Health England (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/public-health-england)
• NHS (https://www.nhs.uk/)
• The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (https://www.cdc.gov/)

Below is a nice infographic from the World Health Organisation on the novel coronavirus too:

What I’m thinking about…

This week I had a bit of a setback on a personal level which, being honest, was a real disappointment. I had to pick myself up and try to find the silver lining in it, and I decided to use the opportunity (however unwanted) to figure out what I could learn from it, and what value that could bring to my life. After sleeping on it (that always helps!), I woke up feeling a lot better, and this week I’m planning to apply the learning from that disappointment to my life. So I guess my message to you guys from that is to say that there is always a silver lining somewhere in a bad situation (or at least almost always!) – it’s just that sometimes, we have to look very VERY closely to find it. 

And on that train of thought, I also reflected this week on how grateful I am for good friends. It goes without saying that family are incredible, but as the saying goes, friends are the family we choose, and I know I’d be lost without mine. A problem shared is a problem halved, and having friends at work and at home that you can call on (and they to you!) when you need to is a very valuable thing indeed.

Lastly, I’ve been thinking about changing routines. I’m a morning person, as many of you know, and always have been. I’ve also always been a morning workout person. However, lately I’ve been feeling like I want my mornings to be a bit more gentle, and slow the pace a bit. So this week, I’m gonna try out switching things up a bit – changing my gym trips to the evenings, and studying to the morning (I have an exam coming up, so the books are out again!). I’ll give this a go for a few weeks and see how I like it. My message on this train of thought is (I think!) to say that it’s okay to change your routine, especially if you’re a bit tired of the same old, same old. If it doesn’t work out, you can always change it back remember!

What I’m reading…

I finished Invisible Women this weekend, by Caroline Criado Perez. It took me a while to make my way through this book, and I came back to it a few times, but on the whole I thoroughly enjoyed it and learnt a LOT from it. Invisible Women is centred on the gender data gap, which has direct effects on so many aspects of women’s lives, from their experiences in the healthcare setting to the design of cars to how society views ambitious women. I would definitely recommend this book – it’s a real eye-opener. My favourite chapters were those that addressed women’s experiences as patients in healthcare – I’m a doctor, so those aspects always grab me! – but the whole book is great. Definitely add it to your list!

I also finished my last audiobook – War Doctor, by surgeon David Nott. You can have a read of my book review of that on my Instagram here. War Doctor is a non-fiction book by surgeon David Nott, who is a general and vascular surgeon. He has spent years working as a surgeon in many war-torn disaster-struck areas of the world, including Syria and Haiti. It’s a fascinating insight into a very diverse and admirable career. I love reading the stories of other doctors, and this book was no different.

As always, let me know what you’re reading in the comments below!

What I’m listening to…

I’ve just downloaded a NEW audiobook with this month’s free credit from the Audible app – Daring Greatly by Brene Brown. I absolutely love Brene Brown’s work – I’ve lost count of how many Podcast interviews I’ve listened to with her as the guest. This is the first of her books that I’ll be reading and I can’t wait to start it. If you’ve read any of her books, I’d love to hear what you thought! She has also launched her own Podcast recently too which is just excellent news all round.

Brews and Eats

This weekend on a library break in Galway city, I found a new cafe called Gerona Deli and Cafe. I picked up a spicy bean salad to go – it’s a very cute little spot which is actually kind of hard to find (it’s down by the Docks opposite Pascal Coffee House for those curious!). I forgot to take a decent Insta-worthy food photo to share but trust me, it was a tasty lunch!

And that’s a wrap folks! I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s Weekly Balance. If you’re looking for someone recipe inspiration, check out my latest recipes on the blog here.

Finally, just to mentioned again that next Sunday, I’ll be giving a talk at Thrive Festival in Dublin – at 10am on the Thrive Life stage! If you’re around Dublin and are heading to Thrive, I’d love to see you there, and let me know if you’re coming!

Have yourselves an awesome week!

Ciara 🙂 x