The swap helped managers understand job pressures
Managers at City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Trust left their desks on Wednesday to work as hospital porters, engineers and auxiliary nurses.
The day was part of a drive to help managers get first hand experience of day to day routines carried out by some of their 4,000 staff.
Most did not tell patients and other members of the public what their real jobs were, to get honest feedback.
Ian Tarbit, an executive director, worked as an auxiliary nurse.
"It is invaluable for a director of the trust who can be a bit isolated from the services to get out there and see the services in action.
"It is also good to see how our staff treat patients and how patients respond to that treatment.
"It gives us a much better feel of how our services operate and what pressures are on those services," he told BBC Radio Newcastle.
City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Trust recently been granted University Hospital status in recognition of its teaching across a range of disciplines.
Site include the Sunderland Royal Hospital and Sunderland Eye Infirmary.