Doctors' Working Lives News
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Friday, December 31, 2004
Happy New Year
I'm now away for four weeks, have a very Happy New Year and see you in late January!
Friday, December 17, 2004
"LemSip Max Strength sorts the men from the boys"
Poll results: Medical secretaries not top priority
Question: Should Trusts prioritise spending on medical secretarial support?
Yes, more admin support is essential: 12%
Yes, but not as their top priority: 50%
No, this is not a high enough priority 25%
No, there are already enough medical secretaries 12%
Following last week's conference, where medical secretaries came top of doctors' wish lists, the full survey results are available free on PMJ Online.
I've just come back from sick leave after a bout of the flu. However according to the ads for Lemsip, Lockets, Benylin etc, taking time out to recover is a sure route to redundancy or demotion. We should be like the Lemsip man "Steve", cracking on with the workload from home, and then going back into work the next day to whisk the boss off to dinner. Although "Steve" is now allowed to work from home, which is definitely progress, this still seems to imply that taking sick leave equals failure, and that work-life balance is for wimps. (See moreawayoflife for an interesting summary.) So....
New poll: Does Steve the Lemsip Man set a bad example for workers?
Latest news:
A third of consultant physician posts are unfilled (icBerkshire)
Foreign doctors "used as cheap labour" (icCheshire)
Better information on doctors vital, says Shipman report (E-Health Insider)
More trouble over Lothian reorganisation (Scotsman)
Integration of overseas-trained doctors into the Australian medical workforce (MJA)
Q&A on the working time directive
Time management:
The art of efficiency for doctors (BMJ Careers Focus)
Project management for doctors (BMJ Careers Focus)
Tips on managing your emails (BMJ Careers Focus)
Tips on keeping patients' appointments to seven minutes
How to leave work by 5pm (The Productivity Pro)
Research:
The effects of work breaks on staff nurse performance (J Nurs Adm)
The effects of sleep debt and monotonous work on sleepiness and performance during a 12-h dayshift. (J Sleep Res)
Sleep deficit and stress hormones in helicopter pilots on 7-day duty for emergency medical services. (Aviat Space Environ Med)
More sleep makes people happier (Science)
Education:
The new Australian medical schools (MJA)
And also:
An essential guide to life as a basic surgical trainee (BMJ Careers Focus)
How I got over the Christmas flu (CMAJ)
Proof that even box jellyfish sleep at night (MJA)
Question: Should Trusts prioritise spending on medical secretarial support?
Yes, more admin support is essential: 12%
Yes, but not as their top priority: 50%
No, this is not a high enough priority 25%
No, there are already enough medical secretaries 12%
Following last week's conference, where medical secretaries came top of doctors' wish lists, the full survey results are available free on PMJ Online.
I've just come back from sick leave after a bout of the flu. However according to the ads for Lemsip, Lockets, Benylin etc, taking time out to recover is a sure route to redundancy or demotion. We should be like the Lemsip man "Steve", cracking on with the workload from home, and then going back into work the next day to whisk the boss off to dinner. Although "Steve" is now allowed to work from home, which is definitely progress, this still seems to imply that taking sick leave equals failure, and that work-life balance is for wimps. (See moreawayoflife for an interesting summary.) So....
New poll: Does Steve the Lemsip Man set a bad example for workers?
Latest news:
A third of consultant physician posts are unfilled (icBerkshire)
Foreign doctors "used as cheap labour" (icCheshire)
Better information on doctors vital, says Shipman report (E-Health Insider)
More trouble over Lothian reorganisation (Scotsman)
Integration of overseas-trained doctors into the Australian medical workforce (MJA)
Q&A on the working time directive
Time management:
The art of efficiency for doctors (BMJ Careers Focus)
Project management for doctors (BMJ Careers Focus)
Tips on managing your emails (BMJ Careers Focus)
Tips on keeping patients' appointments to seven minutes
How to leave work by 5pm (The Productivity Pro)
Research:
The effects of work breaks on staff nurse performance (J Nurs Adm)
The effects of sleep debt and monotonous work on sleepiness and performance during a 12-h dayshift. (J Sleep Res)
Sleep deficit and stress hormones in helicopter pilots on 7-day duty for emergency medical services. (Aviat Space Environ Med)
More sleep makes people happier (Science)
Education:
The new Australian medical schools (MJA)
And also:
An essential guide to life as a basic surgical trainee (BMJ Careers Focus)
How I got over the Christmas flu (CMAJ)
Proof that even box jellyfish sleep at night (MJA)
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Poll results: Should doctors/nurses be able to sleep while on night shifts?
Both should be able to sleep in beds: 0%
Both can take cat-naps on recliner seats or similar: 29%
Doctors should be allowed to sleep in beds, as their work intensity is different: 31%
Neither should sleep at all at night - they're paid to be working: 40%
What's interesting is the proportion of people who think doctors should be treated differently from nurses. We had a discussion last year on the forum about this, which you may find interesting. Feel free to add further comments.
The Improving Working Lives for Doctors conference took place on Monday and revealed the results of the doctors' survey earlier this year. (I'm still trying to get hold of a copy - if you know where it can be found, let me know!) Top of the list of doctors' concerns is a lack of secretarial support. However as Nick Ross pointed out, if more money was poured into admin staff the media would have a field day. "More money wasted on management! This money should be spent on more doctors and nurses!" This point wasn't discussed any further at the conference, unfortunately, but we'll have a poll of views here.
New poll: Should Trusts prioritise spending on medical secretarial support?
Resource of the week: The National Counselling Service for Sick Doctors is a "confidential advice and information service for doctors whose state of health may be compromising their ability to treat patients safely". There is a helpline available 24/7 (0870 241 0535) and there is more information available on the website. I will add a permanent link when we get a links page up and running.
The links list is huge today, but there are some great links, so do check them out.
BMA: Training in communication is "imperative" for doctors
Modernising Medical Careers "to cost £100m a year" (Hospital Doctor)
Secretarial support is doctors' top concern (Hospital Doctor)
Surgical trainees call for debate on "lay surgeons" (Hospital Doctor)
Simon Eccles - new IT job "not conflict of interest" (Hospital Doctor)
Hours worked do make a difference (AMedNews)
Letters: Reforming the consultant contract again? (BMJ)
Tips on having a baby as a trainee (BMJ Careers Focus)
Book review: Communication for Doctors: how to improve patient care and minimize legal risks (BMJ Careers Focus)
Medical marriages - how to make your relationship thrive (BMJ Careers Focus)
The Darwinian selection process for Canadian medical education
And just to get you in the Christmas spirit, "MDs R Us" has a list of gifts for your favourite specialist (CMAJ).
Both should be able to sleep in beds: 0%
Both can take cat-naps on recliner seats or similar: 29%
Doctors should be allowed to sleep in beds, as their work intensity is different: 31%
Neither should sleep at all at night - they're paid to be working: 40%
What's interesting is the proportion of people who think doctors should be treated differently from nurses. We had a discussion last year on the forum about this, which you may find interesting. Feel free to add further comments.
The Improving Working Lives for Doctors conference took place on Monday and revealed the results of the doctors' survey earlier this year. (I'm still trying to get hold of a copy - if you know where it can be found, let me know!) Top of the list of doctors' concerns is a lack of secretarial support. However as Nick Ross pointed out, if more money was poured into admin staff the media would have a field day. "More money wasted on management! This money should be spent on more doctors and nurses!" This point wasn't discussed any further at the conference, unfortunately, but we'll have a poll of views here.
New poll: Should Trusts prioritise spending on medical secretarial support?
Resource of the week: The National Counselling Service for Sick Doctors is a "confidential advice and information service for doctors whose state of health may be compromising their ability to treat patients safely". There is a helpline available 24/7 (0870 241 0535) and there is more information available on the website. I will add a permanent link when we get a links page up and running.
The links list is huge today, but there are some great links, so do check them out.
BMA: Training in communication is "imperative" for doctors
Modernising Medical Careers "to cost £100m a year" (Hospital Doctor)
Secretarial support is doctors' top concern (Hospital Doctor)
Surgical trainees call for debate on "lay surgeons" (Hospital Doctor)
Simon Eccles - new IT job "not conflict of interest" (Hospital Doctor)
Hours worked do make a difference (AMedNews)
Letters: Reforming the consultant contract again? (BMJ)
Tips on having a baby as a trainee (BMJ Careers Focus)
Book review: Communication for Doctors: how to improve patient care and minimize legal risks (BMJ Careers Focus)
Medical marriages - how to make your relationship thrive (BMJ Careers Focus)
The Darwinian selection process for Canadian medical education
And just to get you in the Christmas spirit, "MDs R Us" has a list of gifts for your favourite specialist (CMAJ).
This site is maintained by Ellie Pattinson. All rights reserved. This website is maintained independently of the NHS and the views expressed are not necessarily a reflection of the views of that organisation. For any queries, contributions or amendments, please email me on admin@idwl.info.
