I am so very tired. My last four shifts in MAU totalled 52 hours over the weekend. That's already more than the European Working Time Directive allows, in four days! Today I was straight back to the wards, and my next day off is Boxing Day, so I'll have worked 120 hours in 11 days without a day off.
I calculated I'm actually earning less than minimum wage if I divide my salary into hourly pay, and some of the agency nurses are paid more than me to sit and read magazines, drink tea (during their protected break times, a privilege not afforded to doctors) and occasionally do a drugs round.
I find this an interesting observation, especially when the government are gearing up to *ahem* 'amend' our pension schemes, making us pay a higher percentage for a lower return, while raising the retirement age to near 70. No wonder an increasing proportion of our junior doctors are choosing to disappear overseas to practise.
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