What does it mean for a doctor to be on call?

Question

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.

Answer 1

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,

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

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.

Answer 4

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.

Answer 5

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...

Answer 6

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!

Answer 7

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

Answer 8

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.

Answer 9

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.

Answer 10

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

Answer 11

For a doctor to be on call means for them to be reached outside of normal business hours. The doctor will have a pager, and the answering service for the doctor will get the information and page them to call you. They may or may not be in the hospital. Depends if they have hospital privileges. Yes, they can go do stuff while they are on call. The doctors I worked for used to go fishing and hunting when they were on call....lol

Answer 12

Hey girly, It sucks to be on call! It means that you can get called in to the hospital at any time. You must be ready to drop everything a go. Like if you are sitting with your family at a Christmas dinner, if you get called in by your patient who is going into labor or having an emergency, you have to drop every thing and go to work! :( It sucks!

Answer 13

It depends on the specialty. W/some specialties, they do have to be in the hospital, but they aren't necessarily working that whole time.



W/most though, it means that if they get paged they have to go to hospital right away. Most practices have a "rotating" call system so that different people are on call at different times. But if you're the one on call, you've gotta go.



You can do stuff, like go see a movie, but you'll have to leave if you get called; also means you can't drink at all while on call!!

Answer 14

There pager stays on...a doctor is needed at the hospital the doctor on call is called.

They have to be able to receive the pages, and get to the hospital fast enough...they will not go far if they are on call.

Answer 15

He can be anywhere, just with his beeper or cell phone. It just means he gets the calls from the answering service that night (after hours). You call the doctor's office and the service calls him to tell him you are sick or have a problem and need to talk to him. If you're lucky, he'll call you back when he feels like it. I've had instances where he didn't call back at all.

Answer 16

I am not sure.But I think that if you are on call you have to be at the hospital handling cases,if not the doctor must stay close to the hospital so as to go there as fast as possible when paged.

Answer 17

On-call means they are available however they are needed after normal working hours. They carry a beeper and/or cell phone. They will call and answer your questions or they will meet you at the office or hospital if needed. Or they will say 'take 2 aspirin and call me in the morning'.

Answer 18

It means that they need to be ready in case they get called. If they want to take a chance and go to the movies, if they get called they have to leave right away.. that means no going out of town or drinking alcohol..

Answer 19

On call simply means they are covering the phones. They are free to enjoy their private life, but, they will take calls concerning patients. The calls are first answered by an answering service and forwarded to the doc.

Answer 20

If they are "on call" . that means they may be needed at any time to help out .. someone dials a phone number that is hooked up to their beeper. They can be anywhere .. and their beeper will still go off. If they go to see a movie, and the beeper goes off , they would need to leave the movie. Good Luck ! :)

Answer 21

Hi most doc's on call, just have to be able to "drop everything & come right now" if they are on call.



I can't see why they can't go to a movie although it would suck if they had to leave in the middle though.



My friend who's on call a lot for her job, trys to not do anything too serious while on call--just in case...

Answer 22

I'm pretty sure it means that they are in the hospital, but not really on duty. They may be doing check-up work on patients, but they're there in case of an emergency.

Answer 23

That means that they must be available at all times. Usually they don't have to stay in the hospital but they need to be easily accesible by phone or pager. That also means they must come when called.

Answer 24

when theyre on call they can go anyhwere they want but if the hospital calls them (they dont know when) they must come



my aunt is one and she goes on call all the time, but the good thing is if you cant cover you could ask your friend to cover. (thats wat my aunt does sometimes ,but dont do it all the time)



it helps if youre by the hospital because where she goes she must be there in 45 minutes.



oh they also get paid by the hour regardless if they call u or not, and if u are called you get extra money when you come.



atleast with my aunts job:)

Answer 25

An on call doctor is when they have to be available for a specified time. They must be near a phone in case they are needed.

Answer 26

when a doctor is on call, they're "eligible" to be summoned at any time to come in and see someone. you could go to a movie, but you have to take a phone with you and be ready to leave at any time.

Answer 27

On call means they have to be ready to attend to any medical situation, no matter where they are. Seeing a movie would be a no no.

Answer 28

Are you on call for the first time Laura and you missed this class in Med School?

Answer 29

It depends on the hospital. They have different rules at different places. They have to be able to get ahold of the doctor so he can get there ASAP.

Answer 30

They get paged like a volunteer firefighter it means they are not working unless they are called in to work

Answer 31

what it means for anyone to be on call is that they are allowed at home but if something happens that they need to b at work they have to go :( so its good

Answer 32

i think they can be at home or wherever but when there's a problem they have to come to the hospital straight away no excuses

Answer 33

they are available 24-7

Answer 34

they have to go to work whenever the hospital calls them to go to work

Answer 35

it might mean that they are to busy!

Or they might be on like careflight?!

Answer 36

HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII