The shame is, the word "sleep" never appears in that article, not even once.

Because I'm an "interesting" patient, I get asked to do the student exams. It's frightening, these students who couldn't diagnose me, or examine me properly are then on my consultants team looking after me a few months later.

I guess you should just avoid getting sick in August.

The alternative: allow only 'experienced' doctors to work on patients, but then they'd retire and no one would be trained in their place. We all want doctors to learn on someone else, but who would you have that person be?

Anyone else.

ooooh, can I pick?!

LOL...I once got this neurologist chick who got to do the exam before the doc, she was convinced one corner of my mouth wasn't responding when I had to make a smiley face.
So I checked in the mirror: no problem.
But according to her there was.
She was wrong.

I agree with meggy about giving new people the opportunity to learn, but I would never ever agree without a promise that a proper doctor does the exam all over again after the student doctor gave it a shot.

That's because it doesn't appear much in the students either.

It's always amazed me that the people we entrust our lives to go on such little sleep.

does it every scare you that they call medicine "practice"?

I'm a fairly aware patient and know my own illness and body better than most doctors I see. (I'm kinda my own specialist subject!) so a young doctor can come in and make a few mistakes and it's ok, I'll catch them.
But I think the reason they're so badly prepared is because they get no practice before hitting the wards. And the practice they do get is an exam over and over again, same for every patient. Not great really.

Nope. Doctors often get it wrong, and have to try more than once. Otherwise no one would ever die.

Experienced nurses are a very good backup in general but especially during the 'changing of the guard'..and follow up anything questionable with a call to the resident/fellow/attending. For that reason, I've never seen it as a serious issue, and everyone (from the patient to the noobie to the established docs) appreciate the system.