Staying late

Question 1

You are the IMT1 working on a respiratory ward.

You have been asked to stay on beyond your normal working hours by the consultant due to a staff sickness leaving the evening shift uncovered at late notice.

You had plans to attend a close friend’s birthday party after work.

None of your current colleagues on the ward appear willing to cover the shift at present.

How would you approach this situation?

Showing an understanding of the options available can demonstrate initiative and highlight your understanding of the issue.

Answer 1

Issues raised
* Patient Safety: Leaving the shift uncovered is inappropriate.
* Personal Wellbeing, Employment Rights, and Professional Obligations
* Justice: Singled out against my preferences

Initial measures
* I would first try to explore alternatives to covering the shift. Could colleagues from other departments or last-minute locum cover be arranged? Could a senior colleague step down to cover the duties?

If all of this would fail, I would cover the shift. The details of covering shift would also need to be addressed, however, as last minute locum pay rates may require negotiation.

Question 2

How would you communicate your difficulties with the consultant in question?

Answer 2

This would depend a lot on whether this is a one off or a recurring problem in my current role

Important to maintain professionalism whilst also conveying that I have plans that I would prefer not to alter

Take an open an objective stance. Most consultants would understand and empathise with my situation. Being realistic and open about the detrimental effects it could have for me as an individual are also fair.

Question 3

If you did agree to stay late, are there any other avenues by which you could raise this issue in the following days?

Answer 3

• Raising this via an exception report or incident reporting system would be important to formalise the issue and ensure it does not go unnoticed
• Raising it with my IMT representative or** guardian of safe working** if recurrent issue highlighting a systematic problem
• D/w educational supervisor or another consultant may be appropriate

Question 4

What do you understand by the term burnout with regards to healthcare professionals?

Answer 4

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress in the workplace, particularly common in healthcare settings.

Major issue in medical workforce, likely to get worse as NHS continually faces intense pressures and understaffing.