Working as an Acute Doctor

Doctors working in acute internal medicine play a vital role diagnosing and treating patients with severe and life-threatening conditions. Many of your patients will have rapidly onsetting symptoms, meaning that you’ll need to provide sometimes urgent treatment to your patients for up to 72 hours after their admittance to hospital.

At Medacs, we help place Acute Doctors at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, the largest health organisation in North Wales. And with a range of locum Acute Doctor roles available, including for middle-grade doctors, you could find your next medical role with Medacs.

What does an Acute Doctor do?

Acute Doctors oversee the diagnosis, treatment and ongoing management of patients who have developed severe conditions and are at risk of rapidly worsening. You’ll be facing a wide range of different conditions every day, so you will need detailed knowledge of emergency treatments as well as specialist knowledge and skills.

You’ll be working in the very busy acute medical unit at a hospital, where you could be treating patients with a wide range of different conditions and symptoms. You could be working with patients who have suffered a stroke, or who have worsening chronic diseases and require immediate care.

As an Acute Doctor, you’ll frequently need to:

• perform lumbar punctures
• carry out paracentesis and pleural aspiration
• quickly diagnose a range of acute illnesses
• keep family members updated on patient conditions
• refer patients to other specialists when needed

You’ll also need to work closely with:

• consultants
• emergency department staff
• critical care staff
• other specialists

What qualifications do you need to work as an Acute Doctor with Medacs?

To work as an Acute Doctor, you will need:

• a medical degree
• to have completed a two-year foundation programme
• specialty acute medicine training

In addition to your formal qualifications, you will also need a range of soft skills to cope with this high-pressure role. Some useful skills are:

• excellent communication skills
• great organisational skills and the ability to work closely with a range of different colleagues
• emotional resilience
• calmness under pressure
• capacity to lead multidisciplinary teams
• problem-solving skills
• time and resource management skills

Find your next Acute Doctor role

Medacs can help you find your next Acute Doctor role. As a preferred supplier of medical professionals to the NHS, including the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, you can apply for a range of locum Acute Doctor roles before anyone else. So whether you’re looking to pick up extra shifts or develop your career, we can help. Apply for your next Acute Doctor role with Medacs today.