The second series of 'Junior Doctors: Your Lives in Their Hands' has just started showing on BBC3.This programme follows FY1's and 2's Aki, Amieth, Andy, Ben, Lucy, Milla, Priya and Sameer as they start work at the Chelsea and Westminster hospital in London, facing all the trials and pressures of a junior doctor, whilst being constantly filmed.

Me and my other medic friends are at a bit of a loss as to why any doctor would volunteer for this show. It's hard enough being a junior doctor and everyone makes mistakes, so why let yours be immortalised for all time on film? On the show we see one of the juniors, Andy, trying to cannulate an elderly gentleman, and failing repeatedly. This is a scenario all medical students and junior doctors have been in, but fortunately the majority of us can forget about it a few weeks later as our skills improve, and our failures aren't viewed by a million people.

I suppose that benefits to being on the show are that you'd become a known face, a reality TV star, and this could lead to more work as a TV doctor in the future, which could be a lucrative side-line. As well as this, the programme does expose the public to what life as a junior doctor is like, and can give people a better understanding of the healthcare system. My mum phoned me up after watching the first episode to see if I did bloods and cannulas like those doctors, and proclaimed she felt sorry for me as it looked like a stressful job! Observations from the public like this might give medics a bit more slack, as people realise the difficult reality of working as a doctor. However, it works both ways; putting the NHS in the public eye can also result in criticisms of it. One journalist cited the fact that death rates are up 6% on Black Wednesday, and even stated that people should stay away from hospitals in August entirely!¹ I'm not sure that's good press for the healthcare service.

Also, how would you feel being a patient? It can be embarrassing enough to be the subject of a ward-round involving 11 doctors and medical students crammed around your bed, how about if you felt under pressure to be shown in your ill state to the whole country? Of course patients can say no, but they might feel their medical care could suffer as a result. Would this turn patients away from attending this hospital?

So what do you think? Would you find it exciting to have camera crews tailing your working life, or would you be scared that a mistake could be remembered for all time? Please comment below.

Thanks for reading,

Chantelle

P.S., episodes can be found on BBC iplayer if you're interested in watching!

1. Wollaston S. TV Reviews: Junior Doctors- Their Lives in Your Hands/ Confessions of a Nurse. The Guardian. 24^th January 2012. http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2012/jan/24/junior-doctors-tv-review (accessed 1^st February 2012).