Þórhalla Mjöll Magnúsdóttir is 30 years old and a specialty residence doctor at the Akureyri Hospital. She grew up in the west of Reykjavík and has always been dedicated to helping people and making them feel as comfortable as possible. “The interest in becoming a doctor started when I was 13 years old working in a nursing home,” says Þórhalla.

She was well received in the medical group at SAk and appreciates her colleagues. She is grateful for how closely the junior medical staff at SAk get to work together with the specialists who work there. “What is probably most exciting about the work is that you never know what the day is all about. You always show up at the same place at the same time every day, but the tasks are never the same.”

On the occasion of this first day dedicated to doctors in Iceland, the Icelandic Medical Association wants to increase the discussion on the importance of the work of doctors, the importance of doctors being able to perform their work so that as much time as possible is devoted to caring for patients and their relatives and as little time is wasted on unnecessary bureaucracy and projects that are systemically more efficient done by other professionals. Þórhalla agrees with this and would prefer to reduce paperwork if there was anything that could be changed.

Responsibility

As mentioned earlier, Þórhalla was well received in the medical group SAk and she believes it is important to work with good colleagues who work well as a group. “I plan to finish my special education in medicine, but it could change completely over the next five years if I find some specialty that raises more interest than others,” Þórhalla says about the future.

She has a lot of responsibility as a special residence doctor and a supervising doctor, but she welcomes this because it allows her to grow and develop in her work. As in the whole healthcare sector, staffing is a big problem and Þórhalla agrees that the workload can be quite heavy when it is understaffed.

Great to live in Akureyri

“Akureyri is a very family-friendly place and the reason we moved north was because you could get a kindergarten position here – opposite is the case in Reykjavík. It is also so much more quieter here and calm and I never get stuck in traffic,” Þórhalla concludes.

Name: Þórhalla Mjöll Magnúsdóttir.

Title: Specialty Medical Fellow in Pharmacy.

Year of birth: 1994.

Where are you from: Vesturbær Reykjavíkur.

Education: Doctor.

How long have you worked at SAk: 9 months.

Interest: Cooking and photography.

What were you like in your previous life: Uff, this one is hard, the first thing that came to my mind was Golden Retriever because I am a complete dog lady haha!

A fun fact: Not many people know this, but I have a twin sister. Most people think we are sisters or friends because we are very different, both in appearance and in ways.

How does your usual work day look at SAk:
I arrive at 8 am for a morning meeting in the internal medicine ward. After the morning meeting I prepare for the patients I am to treat or meet during the day, whether it is in the internal medicine ward or the general ambulatory ward. Then I have a morning walk from 9:30 to about 11-12 and after that I go to lunch with my colleagues. After lunch I take on all kinds of tasks from the morning walk, such as finishing discharges, working on medical letters and various other things. At 15:30 there is another meeting for shift changes with the specialists and I usually go home after that.

What’s most fun at work: My colleagues and all the diverse projects I get to tackle day by day!

What is most challenging at work: The workload, which can sometimes be quite high when it is understaffed.

If you could change something in your work, what would it be: Would it be great if paperwork was less!

Something else? A life philosophy? Follow your dreams and stand on your own and then you’re all roads clear! ☺