Locum Staffing and Medical Staffing

Top five reasons why I became a doctor?
Posted by drrathore at 22/5/2009 1:47 PM BST on bmj.com

1. I was weak in mathematics
Needless to say that the turning point in my life after passing matric was not some out of blue love for the ailing humanity but the embarrassment of getting grace marks every time in maths. After all the only mathematics a doctor is supposed to know is basic counting like BP 120/80, pulse is 76 beats per min, respiratory rate is 18 per min and not to forget the number of patients whose transition to the other world he has facilitated

2. Nobody could read my handwriting
My teacher often used to scold me in school” Farooq! I cannot understand a word you have written. What will you do in future” and my conscious called out “Hey go for a medical college”
You all must have heard the old joke about the patient who went to a doctor for flu. After getting the medicines from the chemist he kept the prescription chit with him. He used it as a ticket to travel from Lahore to Karachi on train, twice attended a concert, entered the airport premises using it as a security clearance form, went on sick leave for a month and when he died with the chit in his pocket his neighbour’s dog got half of his wealth because “It says so in the will in his pocket” exclaimed his lawyer.

3. I hate to sleep
I was suffering from insomnia since my childhood and what was better for me than to join a medical college where you have to study late nights if you want to “become a good doctor”. And once I became a doctor then there were the restless nights and long duties for 36 hours at a stretch when my fellow bankers, engineers, chartered accountants and Faujis were having a good night sleep without the fear of being awaken by a patient who has this strange itch under the nail of his left big toe right in the middle of the night and wants to “see the doctor right away”

4. I couldn’t live without tension
Did I mention that “Stress” is my middle name?....and that it is very difficult to see 100-120 patients from different backgrounds and different diseases daily and still be having that million dollar smile on your face at the end of the day…. and that doctors have the highest divorce rate in United states …and on top of that how it feels when after 24 hours duty you sit down to have a cup of tea or catch a nap for an hour and people start exclaiming “ Dukhi Insaniat tarap rahee thee …. Aur Docotr aaram kar raha thaa” ….Ok! Still not convinced … I would suggest reading Eric Segal’s “DOCTORS”

5. I don’t want to get married before 40
Have you ever read the matrimonial page of the classified section in any news paper in Pakistan? A typical ad would read like this “A 35 years old, educated and very very very qualified (MBBS, MRCP, FRCP, MD. ABC…..XYZ) doctor is looking for a bride” what they fail to mention is that the dear Doctor in his quest to become Very Very Very qualified has lost all his hair, uses glasses number -4.5 and has backache most of the time.
Hey! Now don’t blame the doctor . He went to medical college at 18, became a doctor at 23, spent one year doing his house job, then appeared in Part I examinations and spent next 5 to 7 years becoming a specialist. So when was he supposed to get married in between.
Disclaimer: All views and ideas expressed in this article are nonsense, all characters fictitious and I wonder why you read this post till the end. And in case you are allergic to such posts I would recommend going to the nearest doctor.

16 Jun 09
By Steve Nowottny

Exclusive: Primary care organisations are struggling to offer GPs support in coping with what is expected to be a huge surge in swine flu workload, because of concern over costs and confusion over the most appropriate response, a Pulse investigation reveals.
A survey of 45 PCOs across the UK portrays a chaotic and patchwork picture as the NHS prepares to move from the ‘containment’ to ‘mitigation’ phase of the outbreak.
Use of antivirals for close contacts of confirmed cases has already been restricted to those at most risk of contracting the virus, following the declaration of a pandemic by the World Health Organization.

At last week’s LMCs conference in London, the GPC warned practices faced an ‘impossible’ workload. But Pulse has learned that PCOs are floundering in their response to the outbreak, with some cancelling support services because of ‘excessive’ costs.
Only one trust in three has put in place systems to contact locums or retired GPs to enlist their help, despite that being a key part of the Department of Health’s flu planning advice.
Just one trust in four has commissioned support services to stop GPs from being overwhelmed, and only a similar proportion are monitoring practices to ensure buddying-up arrangements are in place.

Practices face a lottery in provision of facemasks, swabs and antivirals, with some trusts issuing protective equipment while others insist it is GPs’ responsibility to buy their own.
Moves to enlist use of out-of-hours services to help cope with the flu workload were also thrown into doubt, as it emerged at the LMCs conference that three PCTs had cut funding to the service in Birmingham spearheading Europe’s biggest outbreak, reportedly because costs were ‘excessive’.


Dr Fay Wilson, chair of conference and medical director of the out-of-hours service, condemned the decision, describing it as ‘a kick in the guts’.

A spokesperson for the three PCTs said the decision followed ministers’ indication ‘that we are now moving to the mitigation phase’, although the DH denied that this was yet the case. A formal decision is not expected to be made until health secretary Andy Burnham meets the civil contingencies committee later this week.

Our survey findings come just days after a 38-year-old woman in Glasgow became Britain’s first swine flu fatality.

As Pulse went to press, the Health Protection Agency was reporting 1,320 confirmed cases of swine flu in the UK – a figure expected to rise sharply.

The response by both PCTs and the HPA came in for fierce criticism at the LMCs conference, with angry delegates refusing to rubber-stamp a motion praising the HPA, and complaining of antiviral shortages and delays in advice.

Dr Paul Roblin, chief executive of Berkshire, Buckingham-shire and Oxfordshire LMCs, said the HPA had shown an ‘astonishing’ lack of preparedness.

The HPA said it was ‘continually reviewing’ its response arrangements.
But GPC negotiator Dr Peter Holden warned the impact of swine flu on hard-hit areas could be disastrous. ‘The workload on those practices locally is impossible in the medium term and it’s difficult in the short term.’

Swine flu – the unresolved issues
Supplies: GPs facing postcode lottery over supplies of personal protective equipment, with some trusts supplying practices and others telling GPs to buy their own
Mobilising reserves: PCTs are supposed to be drawing up lists of locums and retired GPs who can be called upon in a full-blown pandemic, but two-thirds have yet to do so.
Legal issues: The BMA and NHS Employers are still thrashing out an agreement on indemnity coverand death-in-service payments for locums
HPA guidance: LMC leaders have complained that some HPA advice has been delayed and GPs have found guidance confusing

Doctors consider quitting medicine because of new annual appraisals

The biggest overhaul of medical regulation in 150 years risks driving doctors out of the profession because of a new system of annual appraisals, a survey shows.
A poll of more than 1,000 consultants and GPs carried out for The Times found that many remain deeply sceptical of a “revalidation” system in which every doctor will be assessed annually to weed out poor performers. Licences will be reissued every five years based on the appraisals.
The revalidation system was drawn up after a series of medical scandals, including the Harold Shipman affair, and will be phased in by 2011. Of those questioned, one in six doctors said it was causing them to consider a change in career and one in 12 might leave medicine altogether. Only a quarter of doctors said the system — described as an MoT for medical competency — would help them to maintain their fitness to practise or be of benefit to patients. Many GPs said that it would do nothing to prevent another Shipman.
The research, conducted by Doctors.net.uk, Britain’s largest online medical network, confirms suggestions that revalidation has yet to win over its critics after a decade in development. Concerns remain about how the assessments will be carried out, by whom and how high the “pass mark” will be set. The General Medical Council, which will enforce the system, has asked the Government for more time after warnings from the Royal College of GPs over the role of local assessors.

A report issued last year by Sir Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer, outlined how senior doctors will be appointed to assess GPs and hospital consultants in their area to ensure that patients’ lives are not being put at risk.
The system, the first of its kind, is designed to identify doctors who repeatedly make poor clinical decisions and will use evidence from patients’ questionnaires and feedback from colleagues. The medical colleges, which represent different clinical specialties, are also required to develop tests to check that doctors are keeping abreast of advances. Those doctors who fall short of required standards risk being removed from the medical register.
At the moment, doctors undergo no formal assessments of competence and performance between entering practice as a GP or consultant and retiring. An airline pilot would be assessed about 100 times over a similar period.
The survey found that only a quarter of doctors believed the information on revalidation they had received was useful, while 28 per cent said they had received little or nothing of any use. More than 40 per cent said the system would not help them to keep up to date and fit to practise. Two thirds did not believe it was in patients’ interests. Many say excessive bureaucracy will reduce time spent with patients and encourage “defensive medicine”.
Professor Steve Field, the President of the Royal College of GPs, said that the college had worked very hard to consult its members and had published draft guidance on its website.
Tim Ringrose, managing director of medical communities at Doctors.net.uk, said the survey was representative of the 50,000 doctors using the site every week. “Doctors recognise the importance of demonstrating to patients and the public that they are fit to practise and up to date, but they want to ensure revalidation does not become a ‘tick-box’ exercise or a process that takes time away from patient care.”
The poll, carried out over the last week of April and first two weeks of May, involved 1,088 respondents, of whom 500 were GPs and 588 consultants and registrars.
The General Medical Council recommended continuing reviews of doctors’ credentials in 1998 in the wake of concerns about competency and malpractice.
The first stage of revalidation involves licensing, which is due to take place this year with doctors invited to apply for a licence to practise.
Annual appraisals, which are not standardised across the NHS, will be mandatory and operate in a much tighter regulatory framework. They will cover the full range of performance factors, including prescribing habits, interaction with patients and personal problems such as alcohol or drug misuse.
These appraisals will feed into the reissuing of licences every five years. Medical students and those who work in short-term appointments or as locums will also face annual checks.
A second element, known as recertification, will be required for doctors on the GP and specialist registers. These doctors will need to demonstrate that they continue to meet the particular standards that apply to their specialty or area of practice.

Source: Sam Lister (Health Editor), Times Online; May 29th 2009