Housemanship is a period when a doctor can now be officially paid for his/her medical service by their institutions.
It just represents the first phase of a doctor outside medical school.
With housemanship, comes many duties and obligations from the houseman and the life of a patient is also in the hands of a houseman during this period. As the houseman, together with the registrars, medical officers, senior registrars, and consultants, are in the responsibilities fo taking care of the patients.
Housemanship Vs Studentship
A houseman receives a salary at the end of the month for his medical services.
A student doesn’t receive a salary and do not perform / not obligated to perform any medical services.
A housemanship period is usually 1 year. In some countries it can be 1-2 years. In the US, it can be 1 year, or 2 years depending on how fast you are able to match for residency after passing your USLME exam.
In the UK, it is 2 years. The first year is known as Foundation Year 1, and the Secodn year is known as Foundation Year 2.
However, in Nigeria, housemanship is for a period of 1 year or 12 months.
On the other hand, studentship last longer and are always 4 years, 5 years, or 6 years depending on your country of medical school training or your mode of entry into medical school.
The duties of a houseman are enormous; while the duties of a student are relatively less enormous than a medical student.
A houseman has more medical knowledge than a medical student and can teach a medical student. A medical student is still learning much on his basic medical school training.
A houseman is registered under the medical board council of his practicing country, a medical student is not registered under the medical board of his practicing country.
A houseman can receive provisional license from his medical board in the country of practice, but a student can not and are not eligible for provisional or any other medical licenses.
Salary Of A Houseman Or Intern
The houseman salary is the least among his working peers in the Physician field as this is just the starting stage of medical practice in the life of the houseman.
The salary earned by the houseman will depend mainly on the country of practice, and the institution of practice.
In the US, the average salary of a PGY1 intern Physician is 3,500 USD ($) per month.
In the UK, the average salary of a FY1 doctor or intern is 3,700 Pounds (£) per month.
In Nigeria, the average salary of a houseman is 180,000 Naira per month.
Houseman / Intern Networth
The networth of the average houseman or intern is little. Many intern or houseman complain of having little at the end of the month or at any point in time.
This is due to the fact that it represents the beginning part of the houseman life where they have to take care of themselves, families, and have to start building their lives.
The average networth of a medical intern in the US is 10,000 to 14,000 USD at any point in time.
In the UK, the average networth of a medical intern or FY1 is 7,000 to 15,000 pounds at any point in time.
In Nigeria, the average networth of a medical intern or a houseman is 400,000 Naira.
How To Become A Medical Intern
The steps to become a medical intern is straightforward. Find them below:
- Complete your highschool
- Attend a medical school
- Graduate medical school
- Apply for housemanship/internship positions.
In the US, the way to become an houseman is slightly different. Here are the steps to become an houseman in the US:
- Complete highschool.
- Attend an undergraduate/bsc course and complete it.
- Write the MCAT examination and make a very high score.
- Apply for medical schools in the US.
- Get accepted into a medical school.
- Complete your medical school training and write your USLME examination and pass it.
- Apply to match for Residency programs.
- Get matched into Residency and become a PGY1 resident.
What Are The Rankings Of A Houseman?
The ranking of a houseman/ PGY1 resident/ FY1 intern sits at the bottom of Physicians / Surgeon Rankings in medical practice.
A houseman / PGY1 resident/ FY1 intern sits at the bottom. Followed by the houseman/PGY1 resident/ FY1 intern are the medical officers and the registrars.
Followed by the medical officers and the registrars are the Senior Medical Officers and the Senior Residents.
Followed by the Senior Medical Officers and the Senior Residents are the Consultants.
Job Duties Of A Houseofficer
- Shadowing various employees throughout the internship
- Performing entry-level tasks, like data entry and filing
- Working on short-term projects
- Attending meetings with a variety of departments and staffers
The job of a houseman/intern or PGY1 resident is tedious. The job duties will usually depend on the medical institution work and the medical unit the intern is posted to.
This slight discrepancy is because each medical unit have their mode of operations which varies between units.
Here are their following job description and duties of a medical houseman:
- Day-to-day care of all patients on the ward (admission clerking and evaluation, daily or more frequent clinical review, legible notes in medical records, prescribing, requesting investigations, and acting on results,)
- Attending of Ward Rounds
- Electronic discharge notifications and discharge planning
- Ensuring patient safety by adhering to the clinical governance guidelines, such as the completion of key performance indicator audits, the medical equipment/devices policy, infection prevention practices, and the medicines code.
- Responsibilities for being on call (nights and lates)
- Clerking new admissions and performing the aforementioned ward-based responsibilities
- Reviewing and contributing to the treatment of unwell patients from various teams and specializations.
- Educational Opportunities (such as X-Ray Meetings, Departmental Educational Meetings, etc.)
- General Knowledge/Professional Advancement FY1 Program (6 days, including 2 days of “shadowing”)
- Weekly Medical Grand Round; Departmental Tutorials; Weekly X-Ray Meeting; Monthly Tuesday Lecture Program
- On-the-job training opportunities such as ward rounds, informal instruction from coworkers, middle school and consultant staff interactions, and participation in educational events with medical students.
How To Become A Successful Medical Intern
Being a medical intern is for a limited period. Hence, you have to make use of your time well.
Here are some ways to become a successful intern:
- Shadow other employees higher in rank than you throughout the internship
- Set smart goals and work on short-term projects be it community outreach, medical research, etc.
- Attend meetings and grand rounds with a variety of departments and staffers
- Learn about the medical institution.
- Ask questions.
- Maintain your professionalism.
- Unwind and relax regularly and when needed.
How To Avoid Burnout In Medical Internships?
To remain saner and continue to keep your energy levels at the top during the stressful periods of the internship, you should:
- Create social support with individuals you can trust
- Maintain family relationships and friendships
- Eat good food and relax when needed