BMA - Consultant diaries

Diary of a consultant

April 2007

A consultant is a doctor who is fully trained in a particular specialty area and has the ultimate responsibility for the clinical care of patients. Most consultants work in hospitals leading multidisciplinary teams which will include nurses and other healthcare professionals as well as other doctors. Consultants are responsible for the education and supervision of junior doctors in their team and also for the supervision of staff and associate specialist grade doctors. In addition to their clinical work, consultants are also often involved in the running of departments and hospitals .

What does a hospital consultant do in a typical week? How many hours do consultants spend working in NHS hospitals? How often are they on-call?

The following diaries describe a typical week for consultants working in a variety of specialties:
obstetrician and gynaecologist, radiologist, orthopaedic surgeon, anaesthetist

obstetrics

Diary of an obstetrician and gynaecologist

This is a consultant who deals principally with the management of pregnancy and childbirth (obstetrics) and the care of the unborn child. Much of their work involves caring for women who have difficult or complicated pregnancies. They also have expertise in disorders of the female reproductive system (gynaecology).

AM

PM

Monday

08.30-12.00
Antenatal clinic: seeing expectant mothers with routine or emergency appointments. Checking on progress of the baby’s development, monitoring the pregnancy, and observing mothers with complications.

13.00 – 14.00
Teaching session: giving a lecture to trainee doctors.
14.00-16.00
Patient administration: completing medical notes, reviewing test results, assessing patients’ notes and referrals, reading patients’ notes in preparation for morning theatre list.
16.00-18.00
Monthly Medical staff meeting: discussing medical matters affecting the hospital and the provision of patient services.

Tuesday

08.00-13.00
Gynaecology theatre list: operating in theatre on patients with gynaecological diseases or conditions, e.g. hysterectomy, removal of cysts, fibroids.

13.00-18.00
Obstetric theatre list: performing caesarean sections and dealing with emergency obstetric cases.

Wednesday

08.00-13.00
Labour ward: having responsibility for patients in the maternity department’s delivery room and post-natal ward. Attending to complicated or difficult deliveries.

14.00-16.00
Monthly Clinical team meeting: the gynaecology 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.

Undertakes supporting professional activities on other weeks, e.g. acting as a college tutor.

Thursday

09.00-12.00
Colposcopy clinic: conducting a clinic where patients undergo an investigation using a scope or to examine the cervix. The procedure is used to check for abnormalities and detect infections or cancerous cells.

13.00-15.00
General gynaecology clinic: seeing new patients for assessment and diagnosis following GP referral. Patients requiring ongoing care also seen.
16.00-18.00
Team meeting on gynae cancer:
Off-site multidisciplinary team meeting to discuss and review care, and plan patients’ treatment.

Friday

08.00-13.00
Gynaecology theatre list: operating in theatre on patients with gynaecological diseases or conditions, e.g. hysterectomy, removal of cysts, fibroids.

14.00-18.00
Rapid access gynaecological cancer clinic: seeing patients with suspected cancer. GP refers patients directly to this clinic.

Saturday and Sunday

On-call for the maternity department and gynaecological ward. This occurs one weekend every four weeks.

Visit patients on the ward and deal with arising emergencies over the 48-hour weekend period.

Average weekly contracted hours: 48 hours (this figure can and often does increase when on-call). Private practice is undertaken by the consultant during their free time.

See the diary of a consultant radiologist or consultant orthopaedic surgeon or consultant anaesthetist.

Change to another homepage

Diary of a consultant

Log in to your BMA here

	AM	PM
Monday	08.30-12.00 Antenatal clinic: seeing expectant mothers with routine or emergency appointments. Checking on progress of the baby’s development, monitoring the pregnancy, and observing mothers with complications.	13.00 – 14.00 Teaching session: giving a lecture to trainee doctors. 14.00-16.00 Patient administration: completing medical notes, reviewing test results, assessing patients’ notes and referrals, reading patients’ notes in preparation for morning theatre list. 16.00-18.00 Monthly Medical staff meeting: discussing medical matters affecting the hospital and the provision of patient services.
Tuesday	08.00-13.00 Gynaecology theatre list: operating in theatre on patients with gynaecological diseases or conditions, e.g. hysterectomy, removal of cysts, fibroids.	13.00-18.00 Obstetric theatre list: performing caesarean sections and dealing with emergency obstetric cases.
Wednesday	08.00-13.00 Labour ward: having responsibility for patients in the maternity department’s delivery room and post-natal ward. Attending to complicated or difficult deliveries.	14.00-16.00 Monthly Clinical team meeting: the gynaecology 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. Undertakes supporting professional activities on other weeks, e.g. acting as a college tutor.
Thursday	09.00-12.00 Colposcopy clinic: conducting a clinic where patients undergo an investigation using a scope or to examine the cervix. The procedure is used to check for abnormalities and detect infections or cancerous cells.	13.00-15.00 General gynaecology clinic: seeing new patients for assessment and diagnosis following GP referral. Patients requiring ongoing care also seen. 16.00-18.00 Team meeting on gynae cancer: Off-site multidisciplinary team meeting to discuss and review care, and plan patients’ treatment.
Friday	08.00-13.00 Gynaecology theatre list: operating in theatre on patients with gynaecological diseases or conditions, e.g. hysterectomy, removal of cysts, fibroids.	14.00-18.00 Rapid access gynaecological cancer clinic: seeing patients with suspected cancer. GP refers patients directly to this clinic.
Saturday and Sunday	On-call for the maternity department and gynaecological ward. This occurs one weekend every four weeks.	Visit patients on the ward and deal with arising emergencies over the 48-hour weekend period.