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Accident and emergency doctor

Male A&E doctor with stethoscope

A day as an accident and emergency doctor

You work in the emergency department at your local NHS hospital, and your first patient is a six year-old who has been hit by a car on his way to school. You lead a team of healthcare professionals in resuscitating the child. At the same time you are supervising the management of two other patients in the resuscitation room; one is a man who is having a heart attack and the other is a woman who has had a miscarriage.

Shortly after these patients have been transferred to specialist wards, you talk to the parents of the six year-old child, who have just arrived in a distraught state. The day then gets busy. Throughout your shift, you work through a queue of patients who have all sorts of injuries and complaints. You never know quite who or what will come through the door next.