already tired

rough night
it could have been much worse — after all, we only admitted 4 patients, none of whom were acutely ill — but a call night on july 2nd is never going to be easy. that is not a knock on my new intern — she is actually quite fabulous, hard working, and smart, and i feel really lucky to have her on my team! it’s just that the hospital doesn’t seem to run as smoothly with everyone in new positions.

several months down the road, i’m not even sure if the admissions that we did admit would have been admitted, but my attempts to block were unsuccessful. i also had a rather unpleasant run-in with the on-call surgery resident that left a sour taste in my mouth, and we sent one of my own team’s patients to the PICU — never fun. there was not much sleep to be had and everyone just seemed sort of extra frantic and un-zen.

so it was hard, and and blahhhhh i am tired now. i hate that it is impossible on this schedule to practice truly good self-care and also SLEEP. i want to feel energetic and ready for action, but i don’t, and i’m not sure how to fix things. i came across an interesting new york times article on burnout in residency.

a paragraph excerpt, referring to residents who tend to relinquish their hobbies/family time/sense of self because of the all-encompassing nature of training:
they go on to talk about how this is bad, leading to short fuses and even potentially compromised patient care. obviously, since i would have to be dragged kicking and screaming away from my writing/running/josh-focused lifestyle, i have not fallen into this way of thinking. i felt somewhat vindicated by the article, but it could have used some more examples of residents who do not live this way. i wish i could have provided them with some quotes!

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7.3.09

workout: 5 miles pre-call: average 8:31/mi pace, with the middle 3 miles at tempo (average 8:22/mi pace).

doin’ time in durham at the rockwood filling station. i had been wanting to eat at this restaurant for quite some time, and tonight seemed like the right night, since i was post-call, tired, and hungry. we really enjoyed the casual vibe and the al fresco pizza (we sat at a table that was half inside, half on the patio — breezy and fun!).

pickled vegetables to whet the palate

my half of a shared tomato, mozzarella, and basil salad: local, fresh & perfect

and of course, pizza! we had the eggplant luv (eggplant, tomato, mozz, ricotta), and ham & egg, which was . . . . ham & egg. and cheese, too. we got whole wheat crusts on both which were thin, crispy, rustic, and flavorful.

i would definitely go back. next time i will save more room for loyo which is conveniently located right across the street!

reading: about cellulitis and MRSA, on call. however, searching through articles at midnight is not my preferred learning method. just saying.