The first year we became doctors—42 years apart

The moment of transition from medical student to doctor is an experience that remains with you, whether it was just one year ago or more than 40 years ago. Naomi Oldham and John Oldham reflect on the similarities and differences in their first year as clinicians and the impact on patients.Continuity and teamsOn call was a feature of medical life in 1978 and still is in present day. In 1978, being “on call” meant that you were expected to be working all day, night, and the next day, or whole weekends dealing with both emergency admissions and ward issues. Exhaustion doesn’t optimise care. Nowadays, 12-to-13-hour shifts are day or night, but doctors will now go home for rest in between. Nevertheless, this shift pattern is still exhausting and doctors now—and 42 years ago­—need to have “A willingness to forgo sleep,” as Khaled Hosseini put it.1These days being on call means…
Read Original Article: The first year we became doctors—42 years apart »