What happens when a very sick patient arrives at a hospital ER on a summer weekend — only to be cared for by an exhausted nursing intern? Depends — but it’s not likely to be the best possible scenario for care.

The term “July Effect” has been used for years by older physicians and paranoid patients to describe the summer months where experienced staff may be on vacation — and filling in are those fresh out of medical school.

The mortality rate in July is higher than it is in May in teaching hospitals.

Dozens of studies confirm there are more minor challenges with patient care in July than any other time of year. But patients seen in July tend to be pretty healthy overall, said Anupam B. Jena, M.D., PhD, a physician in the Department of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. So any risks tend to be minimal.

“The July effect, if it does exist, will really only materialize for patients who are already quite sick. Not for the typical patient who is hospitalized,” Jena said.

Jena was the lead researcher on a study done at Harvard Medical School in 2013 that looked at the phenomenon with data from patients at 98 teaching-intensive hospitals and 1,353 non-teaching-intensive hospitals during May and July. The patients were admitted for a certain condition — namely heart attacks.

The research proved that high-risk patients experience similar mortality in both types of hospitals in July — but lower mortality in teaching-intensive hospitals in May. There was no evidence of such an effect for low-risk patients in teaching-intensive hospitals, according to the study.

“The mortality in July is higher than it is in May in teaching hospitals,” Jena told LifeZette. “But either way — being in a teaching hospital is better than being a non-teaching hospital regardless of the month. For heart attack especially. So get to one if you can,” Jena added.

“The place [for hospitals] to focus attention is [on] those relatively sicker patients for whom small clinical errors may impact mortality,” said one researcher.

Dr. David Sherer practices anesthesiology in Washington, D.C., and is the author of “Dr. David Sherer’s Hospital Survival Guide: 100+ Ways to Make Your Hospital Stay Safe and Comfortable.”

“Whenever there is a transition of care, there’s bound to be mistakes or confusion,” Sherer said. “When you add to that mix people new to the system who are suddenly put in a situation they’ve never been in before — that’s a recipe, not for disaster, but for things to happen.”

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Hospitals are aware there may be more issues this time of year and in general, have learned to take necessary precautions to minimize any risk for patients and staff.

“Teaching hospitals are certainly cognizant of the potential for a ‘July Effect,'” Jena said. “The staffing is different, but the supervision is higher — so they really do take steps to avoid an adverse event. The place [for hospitals] to focus attention is [on] those relatively sicker patients for whom small clinical errors may impact mortality.”

For bread-and-butter things, there’s no need to go to a teaching hospital, Jena said. “Some of those more common things are actually done more often at non-teaching hospitals.”

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But in the event of a major emergency such as a heart attack or complicated surgeries, teaching hospitals remain the best option if you have access to one. “The ability to deal with complications in any procedure are going to be better at a teaching hospital. A wide range of doctors and specialists can address any given complication,” he added.

“[You] should definitely go, but be wary of the people treating [you] and try to understand what everyone’s role is and whether things are being communicated correctly,” Sherer said.

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Both emphasized how important it is to be active in your own care.

“Obviously, no one chooses when or where to have their heart attack, essentially. So there’s not much a patient can do about changing that decision. The broader question is: How does a patient deal with an environment where errors can happen because there are humans involved?” said Jena.

Understand what’s being asked, he said. If you don’t understand, ask to have it clarified. Be patient with the doctors — communicate all of the information you think is relevant, know your medications, know who your doctors are, and have their contact information.

“Be able to answer questions about why you came to the hospital and be able to think through what’s been going on the last few weeks. All of those pieces of information can be useful in figuring out what’s going on, and then how to plot the next steps.”