Unacceptable

It is not acceptable to call the ward at 4:30pm to say that you are going to do an impromptu 3 hour ward round "hopefully before five". Especially when your junior doctors are only supposed working until 5pm.

It is not acceptable to expect a newly qualified doctor on his first day at work to know the innermost secrets of all the patients on the ward. And it is not acceptable to shout at him. And it is not acceptable to shout at the nurses either.

It is not acceptable to approach a doctor who is dealing with patients who are acutely ill and ask her to do "urgent paperwork" for somebody who has already gone home. And it is not acceptable to grumble about her behind her back when she asks you to wait until she has finished stabilising the ill patient.

It is not acceptable to ignore the senior's advice on how to be more efficient - especially if what you are doing now could lead to serious errors in patient management or delay treatment.

It is not acceptable to discharge a patient when, clearly, the patient is still sick.

It is just not acceptable.

And yet, I can do nothing, but just take it all in.