What do the have to do?
Are they in the hospital?
Do they have to be in a certain range of the hosital?
Can they go do something in the time they're on call (like go see a movie)
Answer everything you know.
2007-12-13 09:13:57 · 36 answers · asked by Josephina 2 in Health ➔ Women's Health
On call means the doc is not necessarily in the office, but has to be available in case a patient needs the doctor. Sometimes they are in the hospital doing rounds, sometimes they are home. If they have hospital patients, they have to be within a certain range of the hospital (policies vary).
They can go to a movie or out as long as they have a pager or cell phone where the can be reached. They are not supposed to drink alcohol while on call in case they have to go in to the hospital or make complex medical decisions if they are called in.
The term is also used to imply that the doctor is "covering" for another doctor or group of doctors. In this example, you might hear them say "Yes, I'm on call for the group this weekend" meaning that this doctors will take all the calls for all the docs in the group over the weekend,
2007-12-13 09:19:49 · answer #1 · answered by Markietellme 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
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2016-05-28 07:15:46 · answer #2 · answered by Grant 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When a doctor is on call it means that if someone comes to the hospital and there isn't a doctor already there that doctor will be called in to help that person.
Yes, sometimes they are at the hospital. They might be one of the doctors working at that time.
No, they don't HAVE to be in a certain range of the hospital, but if they want to get payed they stay close enough that they can get to the hospital in time.
They can do whatever they want to do if they aren't at the hospital waiting for more patients.
I know all of this because my mom is an on call doula(birth asssistant) Not a doctor, nurse, or midwife. Completely different thing. They don't go to medical school, they just a class so they know how to help the patient.
2007-12-13 09:23:33 · answer #3 · answered by TheEmoFreak 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends on what specialty the doctor is. At the hospital where I work the obgyn doctor on call sleeps there... medical doctors and surgeons do have to be within a certain range of the hospital. I'm sure that they can see a movie or whatever not involving alcohol use...they wear a beeper and if a patient calls their office with a problem after office hours,the answering service will page the doctor via his beeper.
2007-12-13 09:23:27 · answer #4 · answered by jennifer w 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They have to be within a certain time away from the hospital... depends on what type of doctor they are and what they are on call for... ER Doctors and Surgeons usually can't be more then 30 minutes away... Other doctors can be up to an hour away... like OB/GYN's can be an hour away. Sometimes they can be in the hospital but not always... They can go anywhere they want but they have to leave within a moments notice, as soon as they are paged they need to be at the hospital within the 30 minutes or hour in some cases...
2007-12-13 09:19:36 · answer #5 · answered by kit-kat 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A doctor is on call when they aren't at the hospital but can be paged or called if they are needed.
The range you need to be in of the hospital varies I think for different hospitals. My uncle is a doctor and sometimes he is about an hour away and still on call, so you don't necessarily be right next door. He is sometimes at family gatherings and going to a movie would be okay, as long as you can leave if you are called to go to the hospital.
Hope this helped!
2007-12-13 09:19:18 · answer #6 · answered by Em 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Anybody who is on call is not at work but is available for work if needed and is easily contactable. Their contract should stipulate how rapidly they are expected to respond to a call but if it allows say 30 minutes then going to a movie would often be possible if the cinema was near the place of work.
People on call are often paid only a small retainer so it would be unreasonable to expect them to just sit around in the hospital or elsewhere doing nothing.
Best wishes
2007-12-13 09:22:32 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It means that they are on call for medical emergencies, or for deliveries (depending on their specialties). They need to be within a set range of the hospital (like an hour, for example). They can do whatever they want, as long as they're prepared to drop everything when they get called, and head to the hospital.
2007-12-13 09:20:14 · answer #8 · answered by Ajay 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It means they have to stay within a certain range of the hospital for a certain amount of time. They can't do anything that would require them to shut off their cell phone/pager (which usually means movies, theater, etc.). They also can't drink alcohol while on-call or do anything dangerous to their own health or safety.
Docs take turns with being on-call during their off-shifts, so you won't know who's on call until they arrive, usually.
2007-12-13 09:18:23 · answer #9 · answered by hbds 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What do the have to do? they have to be available to receive calls from nurses/patients
Are they in the hospital? - not necessarily, they can be close to hospital (withing reach in approx. 20 minutes)
Can they go do something in the time they're on call (like go see a movie) - yes, make sure they have a pager (on buzzer) or be able to take a call when there is a need
2007-12-13 09:18:48 · answer #10 · answered by ps 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋