If someone says “I work in A&E”

[whyeyeeyeeyeeye]

Then do you presume

a) he’s a doctor and doesn’t want people to know so he doesn’t get bothered with child illness/fever questions etc

b) he does another role in A&E and wants to keep it vague for another reason

DH and I were chatting to a dad at a kids’ party at the weekend and we came away from the conversation with different views. I’m a - if I were a doctor in A&E no way would I want all my kid’s friends’ parents knowing.

My brother is a respiratory nurse specialist in A&E.

Personally I would have asked him what he did.

I’d assume doctor or nurse and it’s just shorthand for wanting you to assume “something too specific and emergencies-related for you to think about showing me that weird patch of itchy skin on your leg or asking me about your constipation.” I also wouldn’t read too much into it: I give a vague description of my own (non medical related) job when I can’t be bothered to talk about it.

I'd assume B.

This is very far removed from my experience. Lots of doctors specialise in emergency medicine. Many many more people work in ED who aren’t doctors - doctors are the minority in every field. I doubt anyone is trying to impress you - why would they? Why would you be impressed? It’s just a job that presumably you too would do if it especially interested you.

I’ve never heard anyone describe themselves as an internist or an orthopaedist.

I’m an ICU doctor and typically just say I work
at the hospital or I if I’m in a healthcare setting say I work in ICU. Most health care workers do this or say something generic like they’re a nurse or a physio without giving details about their role.

I’d assume a random role that he can’t be bothered explaining when inevitably asked about it. There are so many different jobs in healthcare, not all as easily understood as doctor or nurse

All of these make perfect sense and I have met every single one of them when I’ve covered A&E shifts

Spot on with the porters, I’ve had porters come and tell me that someone ‘doesn’t look good’ and they have always been right.

I'd assume they work bloody hard in a terrible environment and don't want to talk about it off duty.

I used to know someone who would say they worked in a&e, they were a cleaner in the a&e department. So none of the above

Also a doctor and also think A.
I used to do the same to avoid certain follow-up questions and responses that bored me. I could steer the conversation elsewhere far more easily if I was vague.

I would be guessing nurse and he is annoyed at male nurse jokes, or any other random hospital job like receptionist or x ray radiographer etc

Could be either. Test out whether he is a doctor by asking a whether your runny bowel movements really are okay and if the pins and needles in your hand is anything to worry about and whether the two are related, then move on to something unacceptable that happened to your friends friend once when they went to a&e and see if he backs away rapidly.....

I’m a midwife and I always say I work for the NHS if asked. My role needs an explanation (I don’t deliver babies but work with women with complex social issues) and I don’t always want to get into it at social events.

Interesting. I agree all sorts of reasons why he could have been being vague and all sorts of roles in A&E. I actually loved that he was vague because I can’t talk about my work in public either so we could whizz past that bit of the small talk.

In general I’d assume doctor or nurse but would take his look into account as @NeverDropYourMooncup suggested.

A few doctors I know seem to avoid mentioning it. Odd one can’t wait to tell you but more often people seem to avoid it, saying they work in NHS or a hospital In that scenario I would be avoiding saying it if I were a Dr.

ARE YOU A SPY?

If anyone mentions civil service/ foreign office but is very vague you’re onto this. Took me ages to realise another parent worked for MI5 but I eventually saw her near the building and added it all up. No home working etc

I don't assume anything about their job. Just that they work in A&E. Maybe because I have worked in A&E and know how many possible roles that could cover.

In my experience most doctors can't go 5 minutes without bringing up they are a doctor

This

I think it’s really hard to gauge, probably very much depends on the crowd. I’m a PhD level health scientist mostly working in sexual health. I give really vague descriptions of what I do if people ask. Because if you tell people you are a big fancy doctor, they can get a bit weird and put out. I also do quite sensitive research around sex and sexuality and it’s not always the right company to talk about that. And honestly, sometimes I just get tired of trying to explain what I do. So I’ll say things like I work for a university or I do research for the NHS.

If I really didn't want people to know then I probably wouldn't even specify A&E. I'd avoid the subject and if directly asked I'd probably have to say 'I work in a hospital' ..could be anything then catering, IT, social work etc. I don't think he was trying to hide anything

An NCT friend made the mistake of saying she's a paediatric nurse.

She receives a lot of photos of rashes.

Ah that's not my experience. I only know ones who like to keep it quiet.