Many people who work in hospitals have a bit of advice for the rest of us: Don't get sick in July. At the beginning of July, all medical students move up a notch. It's called The July Effect, and it's when medical students become interns, and interns become residents, and residents move up the learning ladder and assume new responsibilities as they become more proficient in their profession. Even the most green intern is immediately thrust into taking care of patients.

Studies have shown that The July Effect is real, and that deaths in hospitals increase as much as 34 percent in July.

Some residents ask nurses for help, but others are too infatuated with their new status, and it's up to nurses to step in and correct their mistakes. "Nurses are correcting every error and preventing major mistakes every day," said a Maryland solid organ transplant nurse, according to Politico.

"For me, the metaphor I think of is the football team in a high-stakes game," Dr. John Q.Young told Time. "In the middle of the final drive, the coach sends for four new players to substitute for veteran ones. These new players have never played in the pros before, and the remaining players who do have some experience are sent to assume different positions. And the new team has never practiced together before - this is what happens every July in teaching hospitals with the physician staff."

The July effect also occurs in Great Britain, where it's called the "August Killing Season," since the changeover occurs in August.

If you do have to have a surgical procedure in July, some experts recommend you avoid teaching hospitals.