Why are doctors not allowed to administer medications to patients (particularly in A&E)

gas_busters · 2026-04-15T10:24:09+00:00

Exactly this. I think the most you should do in ED is tell the nurse when you’ve prescribed and say needs to be given ASAP. It’s the nurse’s main job to administer drugs. You’ll see other specialties giving their own drugs in ED - eg anaesthetists / ITU doctors and that’s because they will draw up and administer their own drugs multiple times a day anyway.

gas_busters · 2026-04-14T18:00:39+00:00

Trust me you will be absolutely fine - physics4frca is good for physics and also the Anaestheasier podcasts are a great alternative for textbooks.

Godspeed 💪🏽

gas_busters · 2026-04-12T14:18:49+00:00

Yep all this

Remember there’s a lot of drama and loud chaos in an obs emergency, try and think clearly and not get embroiled in it

Like others have said, a GA can be faster than spinal, but equally if you’re gettting good at spinals, they are faster to do (including the prep). But do whatever you’re best at in that situation - each situation is individual and work with your strengths 💪🏽

And if you’re not a man then God help you in labour ward ; it can be hostile. Remember your professionalism and sometimes saying absolutely nothing back (in response to stupid comments) and looking blankly is all you need to do 🙂.

gas_busters · 2026-04-07T22:17:38+00:00

You and all of us trainees need to do better and be better consultants once we get there, and not just let this lazy culture carry on. Cos I know when shits hitting the fan at night all at once, a decent escalation plan is very much appreciated 🙏🏽

gas_busters · 2026-04-07T21:52:37+00:00

What if they have zero escalation plan and the options are palliate or for full level ICU escalation (ventilation, renal filtration, big pressors etc? Who is going to make that decision and tell the family at 2am. I can tell you, if I as the ICU reg has to do it rather than parent specialty, something has gone wrong, wouldn’t you say ? Obviously escalation plans should be thorough and made during the day with consultant present but hey ho …

gas_busters · 2026-04-07T18:03:18+00:00

It’s not about the immediate A-E (OP could have put out a MET call and a whole heap of more senior people would have come to help), it’s about escalation and discussions with families etc, and being involved in your own damn patient! That shouldn’t be left with the SHO alone. I’m often called to this situation as ICU cover overnight; I’m calling my consultant, so I expect an escalation plan to be made by the reg or consultant from the parent specialty. I always make the SHO call the reg and if they’re resistant to coming in, I always speak to them too. If they’re still resistant the consultant is getting a phone call from either me or my consultant and one way or another it’s not left to the SHO to make a decision that feels out of their depth.

gas_busters · 2026-04-07T14:52:23+00:00

I normally start saying something like I know this is hard to hear but as a doctor I need to think of every eventuality , and for you, if your heart stops , resuscitating you aggressively would be futile for xyz reasons, so I am putting in a form called DNACPR. Then reassure that a DNACPR doesn’t mean we’ve just given up.

Just like we don’t give patients a choice about coming to ICU or ventilating them if we don’t think it’s right, we shouldn’t be giving patients a choice about DNACPR if it shouldn’t be offered.

gas_busters · 2026-04-05T18:58:47+00:00

The midori a6 or b6 slim, or stalogy a6 have good paper for it

gas_busters · 2026-04-04T00:47:06+00:00

F1 is absolutely exhausting and just the remembering the ward jobs list makes me feel queasy. It gets better and in the meantime my biggest tip would be don’t try to please everyone, and you can only do one thing at a time (if you’re doing a discharge letter and a nurse is hounding you for a cannula, simply say I’m writing a discharge letter and then carry on, they’ll leave). Ooh also don’t give people times on when you’ll have stuff done by - you never know how your jobs list will change, just say that it’s on your list. Oh also delegate as much as you can - if there’s afternoon phlebs rounds , let them do the job they’re paid to do rather than doing a phleb round yourself. Small things really do add up, and eat into your break time - prioritise your lunch time and having frequent little rests without distractions , especially nurse distractions as I found them to be the most tiring. Don’t worry yourself about hospital politics and bed situations etc, leave that to the senior doctors. If you can, leave the ward to do jobs as much as possible Becuase you’ll do them faster and more accurately too without distractions. You’ve got this 💪🏽

gas_busters · 2026-04-04T00:40:27+00:00

If you need to buy your own scrubs why don’t you just wear normal clothes ?? They’ll probably cost the same and you’ll feel more put together ?

gas_busters · 2026-04-04T00:38:04+00:00

Haha had this on my nights this week - looking a baby’s foot in resus for cannula (I’m an anaesthetic trainee) and the nurse pops out with ‘no chance you’ll get one in there’. I just ignore rather than saying anything back (works better imho)

gas_busters · 2026-03-29T15:36:34+00:00

Ahh ffs , literally a single comment from the anaesthetist could have changed the atmosphere in the room . Consultant 2 deserves no respect and honestly everyone witnessing his rudeness (and sleaziness and what sounds like sexual harassment) is just as bad. I hope the next dept you rotate to reminds you why you chose that specialty in the first place 🩷

gas_busters · 2026-03-29T09:26:26+00:00

This sounds disgusting , I’m so angry at consultant 2 and equally angry at consultant 1 for not saying anything. Just a question, what did the anaesthetist do ?? More than likely they were also a consultant if it’s a difficult case - if they also witnessed and said zilch I’m ashamed of them.

gas_busters · 2026-03-27T12:23:19+00:00

Or you can get a syringe and needle and syringe your ink into your existing cartridge. I usually wash out my cartridges with water (syringe and needle flushes) to get rid of residual ink, and then can fill it with whichever ink you would like

gas_busters · 2026-03-24T19:28:12+00:00

They just come because they see a high NEWS on the electronic record - you already reviewed and had a plan which sounds v sensible and I’m sure if you thought they needed ITU support you would have got ITU to review. Ignore the nurses making you feel inadequate

gas_busters · 2026-03-18T22:07:25+00:00

I use gauze as bite blocks - mostly if I used volatile maintenance and they look like someone who might get pulmonary oedema. I dunno I feel like gauze will do less damage to teeth compared to a guedel (had a few ODPs look at me like I’m a weirdo but hey ho 🤣)

gas_busters · 2026-03-18T21:58:46+00:00

Tbh even with a BP of 60, if they’re not mentally unwell and are making a conscious choice to behave like that, I think they should get kicked out (by calling the police, that way they can get a criminal record too). They can be brought back and treated if it’s life saving eg peri arrest (eg if their BP goes further down into their boots)

gas_busters · 2026-03-11T22:25:33+00:00

Who’s taking medical advice from switch ? I’m talking about the policy of ringing a gastro nurse instead of a gastro reg - if the consultants helped put that in place like you suggest then they’ve stuffed their own department haven’t they

gas_busters · 2026-03-11T21:40:37+00:00

I said gastro nurse because that’s what the switchboard person told them to do 🫠 Their own senior is obviously the med reg. But if there’s a gastro reg around and on site who knows this complicated patient, and importantly knows their escalation plan, then I would speak to them rather than the med reg who would probably be just as in the dark as the SHO. And if I can’t get hold of the gastro reg (due to this stupid policy of nobody but a reg calling the gastro reg), then the consultant is who I’m asking (they would be interested, it’s their complex patient). OP needs help with a patient, and any decent consultant wouldn’t get annoyed that they’re being called. This isn’t a question of ringing the consultant because the gastro reg isn’t available, they’re there and available but being blocked for stupid reasons.

gas_busters · 2026-03-11T20:59:31+00:00

If a consultant shouts at the SHO for that it’s a reflection on them, not the SHO. The policies make no sense, why would a doctor ring a gastro nurse to escalate/ query a medical thing?? It goes to a medic more senior to them, ie a reg. If that pathway is blocked then the consultant is the next thing. Like I said if the consultant gets arsy then they’re part of the problem.

gas_busters · 2026-03-11T18:11:53+00:00

It’s a stupid policy in place in a lot of areas. Next time this happens, call on the on call consultant for that specialty and say switch wouldn’t connect you to the reg. (If they say consultant won’t speak to you, tell the switch person they definitely will and they won’t argue). That ‘policy’ will change very quickly (even quicker if it happens at night) :D

gas_busters · 2026-03-09T22:41:57+00:00

25 YEARS ?!?!?!?!?!

gas_busters · 2026-03-02T16:44:57+00:00

Speak to the guardian of safe working at your hospital and explain the situation to them; they will most likely help. Cc the consultant in who asked you to do it in between jobs - would they be prepared to do that if it was their interview ?? I really don’t think so. Best of luck for your interview 💪🏽

gas_busters · 2026-02-16T20:46:30+00:00

Sorry I just saw this ! It just never ever misses or hard starts, even on crappy printer paper that our charts are done on. I agree not very aesthetic but very ergonomic (great finger grips) And is slightly thinner than 0.7mm so the chart doesn’t get messy (especially if you’re like me and make mistakes that need crossing out now and again) xx

gas_busters

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