ER Shift Hours- Find More About It

Life in a medical career is like dream to many, isn’t it. You must be wondering that if it is an emergency room then what must be the working hours of the staff? Profession of an Emergency Medicine Physician is exciting and hectic at the same time. If you are planning to opt this profession in future then this question must be answered. Let us know What are the ‘ER Shift Hours’.

ER Shift Hours

Majorly the working hours are irregular and lie between 6 to 12 hours as per the requirement. Doctors have to attend their shifts three to five times a week. As it is the emergency medical service, hence it is ensured that the care should be provided 24-7. They may even have to come and attend their shifts on holidays or weekends. No doubt it is the emergency room (ER) where these physician work and save lives of many. The job profile hence requires continuous allegiance.

What key factors are considered before allotting shifts to the physician?

Emergency medical service is inconsistent in providing services to the patients hence certain patterns are adopted in order to assign the shifts to the physicians. Following are the factors which are taken into account before assigning-

1. As per Circadian Principle

• There are certain patterns of the physiology of the body in which it behaves throughout the 24 hours. This pattern has not to be disrupt in such a way that it affects the body.
• Hence scheduling has different place for night shifting in which a particular staff works.
• Long shifts after night duty are avoided. This may cause further stress outburst among the staff. Though exceptions are there when there is an emergency.

2. Inconsistency is generally avoided

• As discussed above, our body runs at a certain circadian pattern hence it should not be disrupted.
• Exaggerated working hours should be avoided from any particular individual.
• There has to be a working shift of 12 hours or less by a practitioner.
• The scheduling members judge each practitioner by the number of working hours by them and the interval of rest taken by them.

3. Wellbeing is addressed

• Above all is the wellbeing of those who are taking care of well being of the world.
• There has to be check on the duty provided to those in the day who were active in the night shift. 
• Schedulers take into account the end diastolic volume, age, severity of patients in order to assign shifts to the physician

What is the work profile of a er worker?: ER Shift Hours

So far, we have learned about the different shift patterns of the physicians, now let’s know an insight about what really are the duties of them?

• They run and request several medical tests on patients.
• They have to deal with the rear and tear of the patients due to any accident that can cause sprains, breakage and etc.
• They direct various staff to carry out services like nurses and care takers.
• They also refer patients to the specialist who take care of the particular ailment.
• They have the responsibility of checking the severity of the patient’s illness.

What are the privileges enjoyed as an ER physician?-

1. Diversity beats boredom

• The fast-paced environment of being an ER physician provides a spark throughout the day.
• Doctors are generally busy and they have very diverse kind of patients.
• This diversity never let their work to be boring and expose them to new opportunities every day.
• This also helps in enhancing their cognitive ability as they constantly has to work with different kind of tasks and ailments hence they have to more aware.

2. Significance of the profession is recognised

• As a physician your importance is recognised all over because you save lives of many and take charge of their wellness.
• It is their skills, knowledge and experience that is utilised at the most critical conditions.
• Going through such conditions and help inhealing people who were affected severly creates sense of respect and fulfilment among the community. 

3. Experience

• As we have discussed doctors have to go through a variety of tasks every day and hence this exposes them to different kinds of opportunities. 
• Due to this cause, their experience get richer than a specialist. As specialist holds in-depth knowledge in only one area whereas ER physician has diverse information.
• This environment make them to improvise their skills more and hence they can provide better health care to needy persons.

Let’s see some cons too-

1. Stressful environment

• The consistent 24-7 medical care is provided on the expense of the stress that is sometimes put upon the staff.
• If there is diversity then there has to be multi-directional approach which is sometimes hectic.
• They as the first medical professionals to intervene, have to deal with complexities all on their own if not solved then they can refer to the specialists.

2. Inconsistent working hours

Stressful environment is not the only odd here, inconsistent and long hour shits has also made this profession a little tougher.

It has been recorded that generally doctors have to work 40 hours a week and these working hours are dependent on the patients and their severity.

Hence the working hour graph keeps on fluctuating.

3. Always have to on duty

• The profession is very demanding. Even if you are not present in the hospital, sometimes you have to rush as there are inevitable emergencies.
• Doctors are found to be on regular phone calls .
• They may sometime feel emotional breakdown as their work is very tedious and sometimes the outcomes are worse.

Conclusion

Now We’ve learnt about ‘ER Shift Hours’, If we pile up the article we found, majorly the working hours are irregular and lie between 6 to 12 hours. They end up getting a variety of tasks which sharpens their skills and on the same hand could be proved as hectic to them. 

Being an ER physician could be dream of many. And what satisfies more than serving those who are in need and this is the motivation why these physicians take up their tasks with great enthusiasm every day.

FAQ’s

1. What salary could be expected of an ER physician?

Answer– ER physician earns an average of $95,043 annually. This fluctuates on the basis of the region, demand, work load, experience, etc.

2. Can Emergency medicine can be considered as a good carreer?

Answer– The salary enjoyed by the practioners is very decent and the demand of the profession is increasing very rapidly. If you are from a medical background with a grounded interest in medical studies then this is a good carreer option.