I'm stuck in a rut. I actually put on my gym clothes and left the house and ended up not going to the gym... how did that happen?
I worked until 2 am tonight and I'm back at work at noon tomorrow ... feels like not enough sleep!
I got to see a cool resuscitation today and an anaphylaxis. I got a really nice compliment from a family and felt like I'm finally becoming a competent person in the emerg.
Well. I'm off to bed. Wish I could say more but my brain is fried!
Yay! I have the WHOLE weekend off! Friday, Saturday and Sunday! Ben and I are going to the cottage - cross your fingers that the heat and the water both work when we get there.
Next week brings night shifts. 11pm to 8 am x 2. I hope the person I'm working with is nice - although so far everyone has been so I have no reason to believe that anyone at this place is mean!
Yesterday morning I had my first irate patient. He's been in and out of this ER many many times with abdo pain NYD and has a hate on for all of the doctors. He stormed out before we were finished testing him to head to another hospital for the same thing. I'm generally very sympathetic to people who are distressed/angry because they don't know what's happening with them but this dude was SO RUDE. I just couldn't find any common ground with him to try and explain what we thought was going on. He just wouldn't listen and kept yelling at me. Yeesh.
I also have made some really satisfying snap diagnoses over the past couple of days - herpes zoster and roseola infanatum. Easy things to recognize that are really satisfying to tell people about because it explains mystery symptoms and can be quite reassuring. I've also had a couple of mystery patients who couldn't communicate and we had to work them up for everything. This is satisfying if you can find the source of their troubles and really frustrating if you can't.
Anyhoo, I'm really starting to get into the groove of how this ER works. 2 weeks left.
I just read a big thing on Willie Nelson's website about stopping horse slaughter. My question is: why is it worse to kill a horse than to kill a cow? They're both treated poorly on the way to slaughter by many slaughterhouses. They're slaughtered in similar fashions. They're both used for meat. In theory, you could ride both, although I've never seen someone ride a cow. Cows are just as lovable and cute as horses. I just don't understand the horse/cow double standard.
I spend a lot of my life feeling incredibly guilty. If I overlook something and someone feels like I've been neglectful or rude, I feel incredibly guilty. If I make an honest mistake, I beat myself up over it for days. I can't let things go. I guess maybe it's because I really care what other people think of me. I don't know. Anyway, I have to learn how to let things go.
So,
I just started my emergency elective in one of the many emergency rooms in the city of Toronto. I am doing an emerg elective because I think I might be interested in mixing some emergency work in with my family practice in future, it's a great way to get to see a really big variety of cases, and I think it will prepare me for future clerkship blocks. I have realized, however, that the hours in emerg suck. I don't know how anyone balances having a family and having emergency medicine as a career. The majority of the shifts are evening/night shifts (2 days shifts vs. 4 evening/night), so if all things are split fairly, most people spend the majority of their time working evenings and getting home late. This isn't great for people whose partners have day jobs. For example, the last 3 shifts I've worked have started at between 2 and 5 and gone until between 10pm and 2 am. I then sleep until 10am and then go the gym and get ready for my next shift. Doing this for the rest of my life seems somewhat less than ideal!
Anyway, the people are nice and the patients have been good for the most part. I like the work but the shifts seem long. This is not the career for me, but it still remains a viable option for a one shift a week type of arrangement along side my family practice.
So, finally something goes well. I got 89% on my oral exam (still no results of the MCQ yet). And, I almost delivered a baby. Sadly, the anterior shoulder was very tight and I needed some help with it. Then I did the rest of the delivery and it was great. I always almost cry when they come out - an involuntary reaction!
The block exam for Obs and gyne has really sneeked (snuck?). It's on Monday and I started studying 2 days ago. Ack! I'm on call Friday and Sunday from 8 to 5 (get off early because of the exam). Hopefully call will be quiet so I can sleep!
