good afternoon

March 19, 2009

hello, world
waking up at 11 in the morning feels strangely decadent even if i did just crawl into bed 8 hours earlier. i have to say i much prefer the 6 pm to 2 am shift to the true night-owl 11pm – 7am! i won’t sugarcoat it, though — yesterday was a bit rough. afternoon clinic went well, but four hours into my evening ER shift i was really feeling like i had seen more than enough sick children for the day. i will give myself props for attempting an IV, but after blowing 2 veins on a chunky teenager (FAIL), that sort of put me in a mood for the rest of my shift.

i did manage to throw some staples in someone’s scalp laceration (‘wound repair’ is another required procedure) and successfully got blood from a writhing four year old after multiple others came up dry, so it wasn’t a total loss. but the volume was high, my energy wasn’t quite there, and i’m glad i only have to work 8 hours today.

as a side note, i have to say that i am really learning a LOT on this rotation. i know i’ve mostly rambled on about procedures, but the bulk of what we do in the ER is decide “sick, or not sick?” and figure out where to place people and how to rule the scary things out. this month i’ve already had a couple of humbling experiences where i really thought the patient was fine and perhaps milking it to get some sympathy/drugs, and then further investigation revealed that there really was something medical going on.

when things lie on the extremes on either side (“my kid has had a runny nose for 10 minutes” or “gunshot wound”), my job doesn’t require that much thought, but it’s the patients in the middle, or who are acting weird, that can be tricky. they remind me that experience is priceless, and that there’s still a lot for me to learn.

fashion advice
thanks for the fashion advice yesterday! i think i will look for a neutral belt, and probably one a bit wider than the one i posted yesterday, and then just try some different bottoms to see what works. in response to lee and cindy, the shirt is definitely not long enough to be a dress in any non-adult-film setting. while it is tunic-esque, with nothing to cinch the waist it just doesn’t work on me. if i were a tall lanky model type, i might be able to pull it off lookin’ all breezy and fabulous, but instead my unbelted look just says “super-sloppy” or perhaps “several months pregnant.” hot.

daylight savings
one way to truly save daylight is to have a job where you work at night! it’s nice getting to relax with the sun shining through the late morning and afternoon. i’m planning on running outside in a few minutes — i haven’t felt any hip pain for a couple of days now! i have another ART appointment tonight (right before my shift), and i really think it’s working. yay!

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3.18.09

workout: just the 30 day shred, level one. i thought that perhaps this workout would be easier without cardio done beforehand — but no. in 25 minutes i was drenched in sweat in my living room! i’m impressed at how well this quick routine really works you in such a short time. for the record, my average HR during this workout was 156 (max 183). pretty impressive considering much of the workout is strength based rather than pure cardio!

doin’ time: nah, there were too many leftovers in the fridge to use up. i may whip something up this afternoon, though. we’ll see!

1 Comment

  • Reply A March 10, 2019 at 7:29 pm

    IV advice for Mrs/Dr. S.U:
    TRACTION. Get a good hold on that thing – hard – pull so it doesn’t move – put the needle in at 60 degrees (just the bevel) and then, when there’s the littlest sign that the thing has just punctured the vein, start dropping your hand towards zero degrees – slowly – while maintaining TRACTION (it’s all about traction, really). Needle barely gets in – just the bevel. Then slide the IV in. best if done in front of surly nurse who’s missed three in a row.

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