Never mind the gym, do medicine

 I have just completed my first foundation year as a doctor in a large busy district general hospital. Not being one for physical exertion, preferring golf and snooker to anything more strenuous, I nevertheless find myself fitter than ever. Why you ask? Well, working for a living is rather hectic: several ward rounds a week, plus on-call duties and post-take rounds, and not forgetting the frantic running from patient to patient in between the rounds.

    The distance that junior doctors cover on foot is not a new phenomenon, being recognised by Jones and Hughes as “additional duty miles” (BMJ 1996;312: 1542). However, they studied a 24 hour period while on call. I conducted a study over 12 days using a pedometer, which records the number of steps taken and translates them into the distance covered. This approximately correlated with an average distance of 9 km on a “normal” day and 11-13 km on an on-call day. The repercussions of such high mileage were revealed when I discussed the results with a fellow foundation doctor, who admitted that she had destroyed no less than seven pairs of shoes during her F1 year.

    The results reminded me of an observation made to me when I was a medical student, one that I now recognise as fact. Medical students walk at a leisurely, if not sluggish, pace. House officers walk faster, more purposefully. Senior house officers walk faster still, with house officers barely keeping up. However, specialist registrars are the fastest things on two legs, leaving everything else standing, if not quaking, in their wake. For consultants, the rate of knots seems to decline, and their stride is calm, cool, and composed.

    One thing is for certain, I will not be joining any gym in the New Year, but I will be investing in some decent sports shoes. I can't wait for those consultant years, if indeed my stamina lasts that long. Maybe the only way to endure the gruelling years of forced marches ahead would be to ensure regular servicing, say every 3000 km?

Nicholas David Clement ([email protected])

F2 trainee, Sunderland Royal Hospital, Sunderland