As I've been writing this particular story, I started to realize that my timeline requires a certain doctor character to be on shift too frequently. I'd love some input from anyone with inside information! The doctor character is an endocrinologist employed as a non-surgical attending physician at a small government hospital in BC, Canada. He has (specialist) clinic hours once a week, though I'm undecided if he goes to an off-site clinic for this or if he conducts his clinic hours at the hospital. My character who is his patient ends up in the ER on a Saturday night, 11pm or so. ER nurses and an ER doctor (rank/speciality not specified) see him then. He meets the doctor in question the following morning (Sunday morning, probably 8-9am). The same doctor character discharges him Monday morning around the same time, and it was mentioned that this is the start of his shift. The patient character returns to the ER late Monday night / early Tuesday morning (sometime between midnight and 3am). I've got him seeing the same doctor character (Dr wanting to stay on the case with the same patient) after being received in the ER and assessed by nurses, but before being admitted and transferred to the appropriate ward. I've been writing this as if the doctor character is seeing him in the wee hours of the morning (before 5am). Assuming the doctor just happened to be starting another shift around that time, is it reasonable that a non-surgical attending who just worked the last 2 days in a row starting at 8-9am might start the 3rd morning before 5am, or should I change my timeline? I've also got a psychologist employed by the hospital making an appearance Sunday noon/afternoon, and then again on the Monday-to-Tuesday overnight shift. Is that reasonable? Also, can that character be a psychologist, or does he have to be a psychiatrist? (I'm aware of the difference, but if both can be employed at a government hospital [based on a real one that I know does in fact have a psych ward] I'd rather use a psychologist.) By the way, yes, the attending physician does need to be an endocrinologist, and yes my patient character is a case an endocrinologist would take.
