Night 6 of 7. For each of the last 6 days, my life has been:
11am - get home from work, eat a bowl of cereal, collapse exhausted on my bed and sleep.
4-5pm - wake up (my body has realised it is not normal to sleep during the day), put the radio on, try to go back to sleep
7.30pm - get out of bed feeling exhausted, have cereal/eggs/sausages (I can't spend time cooking as I need to grab as many minutes in bed as possible). Quick shower, walk to work and start at 9pm.
9pm - get to work already feeling exhausted, start seeing patients immediately
8am - officially the end of my shift, but that is when the Consultant comes in to see all of the patients we have been looking after (between 30 and 50 of them). The ward round finishes between 10am and 11am. I am not paid for these extra hours and I am not allowed to tell anyone that I work them because then the hospital would be breaking the law. If I complain, my consultant will give me a bad reference and obliterate my career.
11am - get home, start the whole bloody cycle again.
I do not have scheduled breaks whilst I am at work. I may be able to get 15 minutes to have a drink of water and even a piece of toast, but that is it. You are made to feel like a slacker if you are not working yourself into the ground for the duration of your shift.
It is 4.20am and I have eaten 2 slices of toast. Better get back to my wonderful job.
5 comments:
It's the life we wanted (well at least I wanted it).
I remember fourth year of medical school--too exhausted to write descent histories or even do a proper P.E., thank God there was always an intern to watch my back.
When I was a fourth year, I didn't realise that this is what real life in the NHS would be like. Perhaps I would be doing something else now instead.
As it is, I have just finished my week of nights, and am going to have a really good weekend. Sod the NHS and all its crap for a few days.
ah...the life of a resident! such glamour! You cannot name your daughter "Anhoni". I have it copyrighted.
thanks for stopping by!
"You really should eat something more than cereal and toast. k now i sound like my mother..."
Ok..I have cereal/eggs/toast for dinner but that's because I can't cook.
Please have a meal replacement bar in your pocket when u don't have time to eat properly..Oye now " I" also sound like a jewish mother..lol
Jesus, I thought the nonesense of not being paid for hours worked had gone. I can remember when I was a house man at a Leading London Teaching Hospital not a million miles from London Bridge having to work all sorts of extra hours and then, when it came to my two weeks holiday, being told by the boss that I could not take it unless I personally found a locum.
Is it any wonder that people are dropping out of medicine?
I see some 3000 people just across the river from said famous London Teaching Hospital will be picking up bonuses of £1,000,000
Thank God we have got our priorities right
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