I'll just do a quick update today as it's 2:00am, and I'm tired but too awake to fall asleep just yet. Anyway, I've now started my second year of residency. Looking back on my intern year, there were alot of highs and lows. The lows were basically working as slave labor and being the peon of the medical team. I didn't get to see Emily as much as either of us would have liked, and the time we had together usually involved me in some sort of barely conscious daze or falling asleep watching a movie/tv. I will say, I won't miss the P.O.D. at all, that's pager of death. The intern pager at one of the hospitals goes off on average every 15 minutes, usually when you're just about to finish with a task or falling asleep.
So, on to the good. I absolutely love being a pediatrician. Kids are awesome to work with, and most parents are pretty enjoyable too. There are a few kids that are almost a year old now who I've known since they were 2-3 days old. I've seen their parents go through the adventure of their first child for a year now, and I can't wait to see how they turn out by the time I'm finished here. I also really enjoy my coworkers. They're a diverse group, and we all seem to get along very well. We've had some difficulties due to resident shortages a few months, but we were able to come together as a group to make it through. Finally, while it's not work-related, the best part of the year has been being married to Emily. Marriage has been everything I dreamed it would be and more. Em and I are a team, and I feel like if she's by my side, nothing is too difficult.
So, now that leads me to 2nd year. As I said before, no more P.O.D., However, if the new interns don't know what to do, then they call me. If I don't know, then my prepared statement will be said: "That's a very good question, why don't you look it up and we can discuss the answer together." I should have alot more time to sit down and learn this year, and I rarely have 30 hour shifts anymore, although 24 hours will be common. The biggest thing is the responsibility of being a senior. Right now, I'm in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). It's where all the kids that were too sick for me to take care of last year went. The way our program works, there's an attending that covers both hospitals. The other hospital has sicker and more kids, so the attending is usually over there. That leaves... me, a fresh out of intern year resident who's never taken care of kids this sick before. Now parents, don't get scared yet, as my attending is always a phone call away and is very good about racing across the city in an emergency. I also have nurses who have been doing this for years, and when they say, "Are you sure that's what you want to do?" that usually means you shouldn't. It's just scary. I've spent this entire day managing this one really sick kid, and every time I start to get comfortable, he throws me a new curve ball. I guess this is how you learn, but it does help reaffirm my thoughts on wanting to be a clinic doctor and not a hospitalist or intensivist.
Ah well, this ended up being longer than I anticipated. Good night... err... morning to you all.
