Doctor, health care - Lagos

Hospital doctors examine, diagnose and treat patients who have been referred to the hospital by GPs and other health professionals. They apply medical knowledge and skills to the diagnosis, prevention and management of disease.

Hospital doctors work in wards and outpatient clinics, predominantly in the public sector (NHS), but also in the private sector.

As well as treating patients, they refer them to a range of other healthcare professionals including nurses, radiographers, pharmacists and physiotherapists.

Hospital doctors work within a number of specialties. Some of the more common areas include:

anaesthetics;
emergency medicine;
general medicine;
general surgery;
obstetrics and gynaecology;
paediatrics;
psychiatry;
trauma and orthopaedics

Typical work activities

Specific tasks depend on the specialty - a surgeon's daily tasks are significantly different from those of a doctor working in accident and emergency (A&E) or a general physician.

However, the following responsibilities are likely to be carried out on a daily or weekly basis, regardless of the doctor's specialty:

monitoring and providing general care to patients on hospital wards and in outpatient clinics;
admitting patients requiring special care, followed by investigations and treatment;
examining and talking to patients to diagnose their medical conditions;
carrying out specific procedures, e.g. performing operations and specialist investigations;
making notes and preparing paperwork, both as a legal record of treatment and for the benefit of other healthcare professionals.