Shadowing the junior doctor
BMJ 2007; 335 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/sbmj.0712447 (Published 01 December 2007) Cite this as: BMJ 2007;335:0712447
- David Warriner, foundation year 1 doctor in general surgery1,
- Lindsay Banham, foundation year 1 doctor in general surgery1
- 1York Hospital
Imagine your first day as an intern or foundation year 1 doctor: You have been bleeped three times in the past minute, ward 11 needs an urgent patient discharge letter, a patient in ward 25 needs a new cannula to give intravenous antibiotics, and ward 29 has a patient with chest pain. Where do you go first?
If you are a final year student and this scenario is enough to bring you out in a cold sweat, then you will no doubt be hoping that your last few months at medical school will have been adequate preparation for that first day on the wards. However, in 2003 the BMJ published a survey of 3446 newly qualified doctors; a worrying 40.3% thought that medical school had not prepared them adequately for their job. So what do you do?
What's shadowing?
Thankfully, most medical schools in the United Kingdom incorporate a shadowing period after exams, when final year students can spend time with existing foundation year 1 doctors-the aim being to decrease fear and anxiety by increasing familiarity. Two respondents to the BMJ's 2003 survey summed up the situation well: “Medical school provided excellent factual preparation for PRHO [preregistration house officer] jobs but was limited in basic problems found on the wards” and provided “not enough emphasis on real life situations.” Thus by shadowing the outgoing foundation year 1 doctor you will learn the practicalities of your job-that is, what is and is not your responsibility, what to do when no one else is around, and how to cope when the unpredictable occurs.
The length of your shadowing period will probably be decided by your medical school, but …
Log in
Log in using your username and password
Log in through your institution
Subscribe from £184 *
Subscribe and get access to all BMJ articles, and much more.
* For online subscription
Access this article for 1 day for:
£50 / $60/ €56 (excludes VAT)
You can download a PDF version for your personal record.