The Weight of a Pager for a Medical Professional

Photo Credit: By Solomon203 (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

Pager call. There are few things about it that one would categorize as “enjoyable.” The funny thing is, when you were a medical student, there was little more that you wanted than to be given that pager. It marks a level of expertise in your field (you have to know something in order to be handed the on-call pager) as well as an ability to have direct influence over real patient care. It is funny how quickly that bright and shiny pager becomes weighty and those tones grate on your nerves.

I recently transitioned to a new practice with new responsibilities, new roles, and…a new pager. As I prepare to be on call this week I reflected on the past 5 years of experience holding varied levels of the “first call pager” and tried to remember what it was like to be that eager intern being handed the pager for the first time.

I came across a few thoughts that provided me with a new sense of purpose when holding the pager:

1. No matter how many times you have answered the exact same question, it is this patient’s first time asking it. This is an extremely important thing to keep in mind. Your patients are going through this for the first time.
2. When a patient calls you, they need your help. Remembering this simple fact, more than any other, will soften your response and make you a more effective healer over the phone.
3. Most times, the patients who call are very apologetic and respectful of your time. They deserve that same respect.
4. In the end, this is your chance to doctor…this is what all that training prepared you to do. Remember that excitement you had as a medical student.

So when you receive the same question for the 5^th time that night; when the call comes at 2 in the morning; when you are answering the 10^th page that hour…take a deep breath. Remember these things.

“Hello, this is Dr. Franasiak returning a page, how can I help you?”

Read more experiences from current residents. Subscribe to our blog!

All of the opinions expressed here are the author’s and his/hers alone, and do not represent necessarily those of Kaplan or its employees.

 Test names are the registered trademark of their respective owners.