On-call for Medical Students?

[cj09]

Hi, i was just wondering if medical students at Uni are given on-call rotas?

[FruitcakeLiz]

at liverpool not generally speaking. On O&G rotation you do one on-call week on the delivery suite in 3rd year.

[melon]

Typically the term on-call implies some out of hours responsibility for patients. Besides tagging along with a doctor on an on-call shift, medical students don't tend to do them. They are still learning and can't prescribe anything etc, so are unable to provide any real treatment for sick patients.

Like Liz said, at Liverpool you do a few night shifts in the delivery suite on your O&G rotation in third year, and a few evenings in A&E in fourth year. These are still very much learning roles however. In final year, you have a bit more responsibility, like maybe carrying your F1's bleep for the shift.

[rjm]

No. However, if a medical student turns up out of hours and is keep to help/learn we are usually more than happy to let you clerk and then discuss cases. However you have to remember that frontline staff are reduced out of hours so if a junior doctor tells you they are too busy to teach/discuss cases then dont hassle them. Ultimately, most medical students are lazy f**kers who try to do as little as possible to ensure they still graduate so it is always refreshing to find keen and good students., and that is usually recognised by the seniors and juniors (who pass on appropriate information to those that do the marking!)

[cj09]

Typically the term on-call implies some out of hours responsibility for patients.

"on-call" is probably the wrong word, what i meant was night shifts.

However, if a medical student turns up out of hours and is keep to help/learn we are usually more than happy to let you clerk and then discuss cases.

That's good to know. So if they had the time to teach you a little bit and you wanted to do a night shift out of your own accord, then they will let you? That's pretty cool. I hope i'll get to have that opportunity if i get into med school

[rjm]

I have never yet seen a medical student do a night shift, and realistically the chance of you getting teaching on a night shift is low given that most of the time junior docs dont even get time to have a drink/pee! And if they do have time, they are probably going to try to sleep! Actually, I lie, I stayed overnight one time when I was doing obstetrics and I wanted to see a birth, had stayed with the lady all day and it was eventually about 4 in the morning when she/I delievered the baby.

However, noone is going to stop you doing a night if you want to. Ultimately when you are a clinical medical student it is up to you what you do and when. If you decide you dont want to go in ever except for your exams that is your choice, if you decide to spend 100 hours a week in the hospital that is also your choice, its about being an adult and making a responsible decision on how best to use your time.

[rjm]

Plus, you will do enough nights in your life time so why start too early!

[cj09]

Plus, you will do enough nights in your life time so why start too early!

It's not about that. It's about the experience. I know i am not a doctor...yet but one day i will be (if i work hard enough) and i would like to experience what it's like; even if it's only a small realistic fraction of what being a doctor is really like.

[scohoust]

I've done a few night shifts, mainly in areas where staffing isn't totally reduced (A&E particularly and encouraged to by supervisor in SCBU). Personally I found them quite useful just to see the differences at night and to convince myself I could survive staying awake.

If you do end up doing a night shift, expect many staff to try and get you to go home. Apart from that though, I'd say they're good for seeing more than you'll see during the day. Perhaps I was just lucky.

[Lizzie-Beth]

At Leicester, we are encouraged to do on-calls, weekends and night shifts with most rotations.