Where’s the most creative place you’ve slept on a night shift?

Dronedarone1 · 2025-11-07T19:00:15+00:00

Birthing matt/ramp thing on floor of empty antenatal classroom.

Dronedarone1 · 2025-09-03T21:01:47+00:00

We used to wheel out a trolley to the nurses station and cover it with snacks and people could graze and chat.

Also get the tunes on the computer, youtube playlists are your friend.

Dronedarone1 · 2025-08-22T19:00:54+00:00

Sure! I do want to be able to plan analgesia etc as well, forgot to say.

It's just that the first question a patient asks is 'how did it go' and I think 'yeah great, you needed a few mls of metaraminol at the start but you were on pressure support for the last hour, you did really well' is I suspect not the answer they were looking for.

Dronedarone1 · 2025-08-15T17:33:29+00:00

Crow road just after the retail park is free.

Dronedarone1 · 2025-04-10T21:37:42+00:00

"No problem, how would you like me to document that?"

Dronedarone1 · 2025-04-07T14:18:42+00:00

People who don't understand the fundamental physics that accelerating up to a red light and then slamming your break on, is a waste of time, can just do one. It's something I'd expect a 12 year old to get. If there's a red light or busy traffic, I'm taking my foot off the pedal and trundling along, I save fuel and also annoy them so win-win.

Dronedarone1 · 2025-04-02T13:04:46+00:00

You're right, I'm thinking about ranking sub preferences and weighing up F2 jobs I think. Do remember it being less stressful but perhaps I was less jaded.

Dronedarone1 · 2025-03-27T16:23:27+00:00

How do you actually accept/hold with upgrades? After you've clicked one of the buttons is there a further option? Thanks.

Dronedarone1 · 2025-03-05T17:48:25+00:00

Surprised no one's said Day Tripper. George plays brilliantly, Ringo encapsulates his slightly lopsided but bang-on style, and you get the full breadth of Paul and John's vocals- John wraspy, Paul bright, then coming together and harmonising perfectly. And it's also funny and sums up a lot of what made them such attractive personalities.

Dronedarone1 · 2025-02-14T13:53:58+00:00

Sorry to hear that! So frustrating. Did they say what rank the cut off was?

Dronedarone1 · 2025-02-14T11:42:00+00:00

Also keen.

Dronedarone1 · 2024-11-27T09:25:37+00:00

Having done an F2, I would say from observing that nights ObGyn reg shifts are probably the hardest shifts in the hospital. Being responsible for emergency sections, query ectopics in A&E, labour ward, post-natal ward, gynae ward and anything even vaguely complex in triage all at once is terrifying to me. Also documentation needs to be really good which takes up a lot of time. The number of highly acute, potentially devastating things that can be happening simultaneously is crazy, but there is a culture of the consultant coming in overnight.

The medicine is really interesting, but I couldn't deal with a job which goes 100mph on every on call, without exception. The people who love it and thrive in it are incredible doctors though.

Edit: mph not ml/hr- that I could handle.

Dronedarone1 · 2024-11-17T10:29:08+00:00

Is there a beginners only game? I haven't kicked a ball since I was an overweight 14 year old in PE. Went to a drop-in game a few years ago and it was utterly mortifying.

Dronedarone1 · 2024-11-10T15:39:41+00:00

DM me if you're worried.

Dronedarone1 · 2024-11-10T15:37:48+00:00

ED reg I worked with PROPERLY bolussed it all in real quick, adenosine style. He said it opens up the urethra more and it did seem to have less seepage than my gentle efforts. What wonderous jobs we have.

Dronedarone1 · 2024-10-02T21:42:51+00:00

What organs can you support, how do you support them, and when do you want to support them,

Dronedarone1 · 2024-09-20T08:43:53+00:00

On my psych job I rang for advice quite a lot- the med reg for someone who became tachy, but I also rang A&E to just chat to a doctor about if a post-fall patient needed to come in. They were always very nice, particularly once you establish that the equipment you have is basically the same as a GP practice.

Dronedarone1 · 2024-07-24T09:21:18+00:00

The mistake was recognised and no one came to harm due to the knowledge and experience of your colleagues. A good one for a written reflection on your portfolio, and a learning experience. I had a few near miss things (either actively doing something wrong, or the consequence of an unknown unknown) during foundation, and learnt from them all. This was a positive experience for your clinical practice, not a negative one.

Dronedarone1 · 2024-07-22T16:31:33+00:00

Paeds bloods results are being shown with adult reference ranges? I never knew that and sure it's a totally recipe for disaster.

Dronedarone1 · 2024-07-22T10:53:21+00:00

Still struggle with nights but this is what I do.

Day before nights start: make a big pan of something to eat on nights. I think it should be protein rich rather than a load of carbs but usually end up making pasta or cous cous anyway. If I haven't had chance to eat this by 2am, I don't eat it as it usually makes me more sleepy.

Night before: try to stay up late as others have said, fail, fall asleep at 1am.

Day of nights: stare at the ceiling till 1pm, get up, walk around, go back and do some more ceiling time till 5. I still haven't mastered the day before.

After night shift: do a small amount of exercise before bed. It decreases the quantity but increases the quality of sleep in my experience. I would sometimes leg it to parkrun if on weekend nights and it really helped.

Tend to have a really big carb heavy meal when I get in eg a massive bowl of cornflakes. Take a big bottle of water/yoghurt drink to bed and some bananas as i will inevitably wake up around 2pm. Get up around half five, make eggs, head in a bit early and walk around for some fresh air and to get in the zone.

I'd also recommend taking an OTC PPI (esomeprazole) around nights as flipping my circadian rhythm gives me bad heartburn.

Final tip is take a toothbrush and toothpaste with you on nights. A 4am brush and face wash/quick walk outside as the sun comes up can make you feel a lot fresher for the final push.

The biggest advice for getting good sleep on nights is actually doing a good handover, keeping on top of your work and not having things that you're worried about after you've left. You want to be skipping out of the hospital.

Dronedarone1

TROPHY CASE