For doctors, on-call days are the most unpredictable, the most stressful, but also the most rewarding. Everyone finds their own meaning in the job they do: a profession with heavy responsibilities, which nevertheless fills them with incomparable satisfaction. On the front line, they feel like they are giving their best. Whether they see themselves as fixers or investigators, they share a deep desire to help.

When complications arise, doctors must step out of their comfort zone. Even if they are trained, experienced and always prepared for the worst, sooner or later they are confronted with situations that are beyond their control. How do they manage stress, doubt and helplessness? How do they deal with the risks associated with their decision-making and being aware that an error can have serious consequences?

Faced with congestion, doctors fight the battle for beds every day. In complex gymnastics, they are constantly reassessing the situation to meet ever-increasing demand. Negotiations are constantly taking place between the heads of the different departments in order to free up a bed or a stretcher, which can accommodate a patient whose needs are more pressing. Inevitably, dilemmas arise, which often involve morals and ethics.

In the hospital, the pace is hectic, the hours are long and the tasks are multiple. Complex operations and urgent interventions replace others, which will have to wait. Doctors are constantly asked: how do they manage to establish priorities, when everything seems to be a priority? How do they manage the stress of an intense day without neglecting the human aspect? Overloaded, exhausted, they struggle one patient at a time, regardless of their state of mind.

On weekends, the hospital is no longer the hive we see on weekdays. The workforce is reduced, as are the resources. However, the specialists on call are on duty, ready to respond to emergencies… if there are any. Weekends are unpredictable and doctors never know what to expect. People are not only sick Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.: weekend care is essential to the profession.

There is a long way to go before practicing medicine alone. When they leave school, students begin a new stage: residency. At the hospital, under the watchful eye of an experienced boss, they put their knowledge into practice. This period of intense stress confronts them with the realities of their job. For the doctors who supervise them, the weight of this additional responsibility is largely offset by the satisfaction of passing on their expertise.

Whether they are novices or experienced, doctors must regularly take new actions and face the unknown, because in medicine, there are many first times. Faced with these stressful situations, residents and bosses react differently, in particular because of their level of responsibilities. However, they have in common a deep desire to do well, the same excitement at discovery and a deep satisfaction at accomplishing something new.

The daily life of doctors is made up of dramatic situations. Over time, they learn to protect themselves, to be less affected by the tragedies their patients experience. They build a shell essential to their practice. Yet there are times when the armor weakens, when they are touched beyond the usual empathy they naturally have for those they care for. If they have to control their emotions, it also makes them better doctors.

Stress is omnipresent in the daily lives of doctors who work in hospitals. Because lives depend on it, everyone uses their own mechanisms to make stress a driving force rather than a brake and to avoid at all costs that an extreme situation makes them lose their concentration. While some may not hate this intense dose of adrenaline, they all derive great satisfaction from managing to control their stress in order to help a patient get better.

The desire to heal and save is at the heart of the vocation of doctors. Paradoxically, they regularly face situations where they must instead accompany their patients in death. When should hope give way to dignity? Faced with death, they sometimes have to make difficult decisions, which raise fundamental questions in them. And it is without a doubt in self-sacrifice that we discover the greatest humanity in doctors.

At night, the word emergency takes on its full meaning in the hospital. On-call specialists provide service and get out of bed as needed, but interventions that can wait are relegated to the next day. For residents, nights are often added to long study days. While some lucky people can take advantage of a rare lull to catch up on some sleep, others fight fatigue to meet the demands of a boss who takes the opportunity to teach.

They may be stimulated by the emergency and fueled by adrenaline, but doctors do not escape routine. If she settles in, that doesn't mean everything is easy. The profession requires these professionals to never let their guard down, to be continually alert. And on days when everyday life takes up more space, they all find gratification in the help they provide to patients and in the thanks they receive in return.