The Final Battle

Today was the end of one season and the start of another. My year-long of "elective time" (outpatient clinic-care; read: no call and weekends off) has come to an end. I will now restart the phase of my medical training that lives more up to it's name of "residency", in other words, living in the hospital once again. For the next 8 months (with the exception of February and May), I will be taking care of in-patients, admitted hospital patients, in the "wards". This involves only 4 days off a month and an average of 65-80 hours per week. Our residency program calls the year I just came out of, the year of electives with an out-patient focus, the "Long Block." My colleagues have then coined these next 8 months, appropriately so, as the "Hell Block." At the end of this battle, however, is the completion of my Internal Medicine residency!

It was bittersweet saying goodbye to my clinic patients this last month as I have taken care of some of them for 1.5 years. A few patients even cried, a few gave me hugs, and a couple vowed to track me down "somehow" in the hospital. (I told them they could maybe find me if they get a colonoscopy next year. ;-) )

In this new season, I am definitely very sad about the diminished time I get to be around Dustin and Levi. This month I am doing the Cardiology service which is from 6am to 6pm or later Mon-Fri and 6am-12pm or later on Saturday with Sundays off. This morning was the first time that I haven't nursed Levi in the morning--it was sad to start my day without seeing him. Also, by the time I get home from work, he is really sleepy, and I just have a few minutes before putting him down for his short nap from which he wakes up to nurse before going down for the night. What I have to keep reminding my self is that this is just a season and that I just need to maximize my time with him when I am at home.

Although the schedule is far from ideal, I am excited about being back in the wards, taking care of sicker patients and being a Team Leader and Senior Resident. (ie: for those who watch Gray's Anatomy, like Dr. Bailey was to the rest of her interns the 1st couple seasons). It'll be fun to work on making the team run efficiently, do some teaching, and see more patients (and, therefore, learn more) with less busy-work (interns write the notes and orders). I am just very thankful I am not an intern anymore.

If I can keep up with uploading my pictures in a timely manner, look for more words from this Momma Doc. :-)