Question: What is your favourite thing to do in the hospital

Alex Haragan answered on 6 Jun 2018:

Well these days I mostly work in the diagnostics lab. I’m rarely on the wards or in clinic.
But I’ve certainly had my fair share of doing the general jobs a junior doctor is required to do!
Most of the time it was too busy to do much besides work – but occasionally you’d be able to get a bit of spare time.
I think when you are really busy and working solidly its important to make the most of breaks – even if its only 5 minutes here or there (I’ve certainly done 13 hours straight with no breaks, food, water or toilet stops – that is not healthy! But most doctors I know have done the same.)
But I loved talking to patients. When you have a bit of spare time and aren’t just talking about why they are there (IE – why they are unwell) many people really open up and can give you fascinating stories about their lives and family.
I’ve met Olympic judges, ex prisoners of war – but even just “normal” people have had the most interesting lives. So talking and finding out about people’s general lives, when time allows, is probably the best thing about it.