Nights On-Call are an inevitability when training as a  Junior Doctor as well as being the most testing of duties.  Picture a hospital ward at night, with patients, staff and a newly qualified Junior Doctor.  This young pup is in charge, and if any situations develop then the buck stops with him/her.  So you can imagine the initial fear that would be part of their first night on-call.

To help with this, a computer program has been developed at the Central Florida College of Medicine, which enables medical students to experience one of the most daunting responsibilities of their new jobs before employment.  Named “MySpaceCase”, which is clearly a poor attempt to paraphrase MySpace.com, so the hip generation will identify with it… FAIL  This technology allows students to be placed on-call at the whim of virtual patients, any one of which can present at any time during the night with a complaint ranging from a productive cough to a full on cardiac arrest.  Additional real life factors like team management, time pressure and angry family members who need to be calmed down (sedation should do it), ensures the students receive a rounded on-call experience to develop the skills they will need on the ward (www.drtribe.com).

So what are the  main benefits of being “Player1” in this game, other than the great amusement of the faculty staff.  Firstly, it may slightly alleviate the first time nerves when it’s for real.  Secondly, it should greatly improve the students problem solving capabilities under pressure as well as during the night (we only go to school during daylight).  Most importantly, it will provide the students with an opportunity to develop coping strategies for working with fatigue.  Tired Dr’s make more mistakes.

For instance, the NHS released data on an approx 6% increase in death rates which correlates to the first Wednesday in August each year… The time when there’s a fresh intake of Junior Doctors.  Similar studies have been carried out in the USA and have reached the same outcome (  Obviously, they have deemed it a phenomenon which requires further investigation as this avoids pinning the blame on new medics.  However, if this is the case and there are more deaths as a direct result of a fresh batch of sleepy inexperience, then any learning tool which can provide an insight into the unknown would be most welcome (Dr Jen et al)

More info at:  http://www.nhs.uk/news/2009/09September/Pages/Rise-in-deaths-linked-to-new-doctors.aspx