Diary of A Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
| PM | ||
| Monday | 07.30-08.30 X-ray meeting: discuss patients’ x-rays, and other examinations, with radiologists to decide on appropriate treatment. 08.30-11.00 Ward round: seeing newly admitted patients, reviewing and planning care of existing patients, teaching junior medical staff who accompany the round. 11.00-13.30 Patient administration: completing medical notes, reviewing test results, assessing referrals, reading patients’ notes in preparation for clinic and theatre lists. |
14.00 – 17.30 Outpatient clinic: dealing with new and follow-up patients in the outpatients department. Will include assessment for surgery, discussion of treatment options, reviewing progress of condition. |
| Tuesday | 08.30-12.00 Childhood disability clinic: visiting the child development centre to examine and check on young patients with orthopaedic disabilities. |
12.30-13.30 Monthly journal club: clinicians discuss recent research papers to expand knowledge of new treatments and procedures 13.30-17.30 Trauma theatre list: operating on emergency trauma patients, e.g. patients who have complex fractures following an accident and require surgery. |
| Wednesday | 08.00-13.00 Day case operating list: operating on patients who do not require an overnight stay in hospital. May include examinations such as an arthroscopy – a procedure to investigate the knee. |
14.00-16.00 Monthly clinical team meeting: the orthopaedic team meet to review cases, discuss future operations or procedures. 16.00-18.00 Monthly Governance meeting: A monthly meeting to discuss clinical standards and safety. |
| Thursday | 07.30-08.30 Pre-operative check: visit patients on the ward to check they are ready for surgery. 08.30-12.30 Elective theatre list: operating on patients pre-booked for surgery, e.g. joint replacement. |
12.30-17.30 Elective theatre list: operating on patients pre-booked for surgery, e.g. joint replacement. 17.30-18.30 Ward round: check on patients who have been operated on during the day. |
| Friday | 08.00-09.00 Tutorial: teach-in with trainee staff 09.00-11.00 Fracture clinic: seeing patients who have had treatment or surgery for a fracture. Checking progress and reviewing care plan. 11.00-13.00 External duties: includes work undertaken for the wider benefit of the profession, e.g. reviewing research papers for journal publication or teaching on an advanced life support course. |
13.00-17.00 Teaching session: giving lectures to trainee doctors and medical students. |
| Saturday and Sunday | On-call for one weekend in every 5 weeks.
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Conducting ward rounds to check on patients and performing emergency trauma surgery. |
Taken from:
http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/ConsultantdiaryOrthopaedic
