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| I don't typically drink soda or caffeine - maybe one per month but today I wanted to go to church with T before I napped.. so this diet Pepsi did the trick |
This month, as tiring as it was at times, was super educational. Not only did I learn a lot about critical care medicine like ventilator settings, broad empiric antibiotic coverage, and how to track loss of strength in patient with progressive neurologic diseases. But even more important, I gained a new confidence that I could, in fact, function on nearly zero sleep.. that I am capable of answering (most!) of the questions nursing staff page to ask.. that I can use my brain for 28 hours straight and stay sane.. all of these things are small tasks but I haven't been challenged with them before!
I also learned more about myself as a physician. We had a lot of end-of-life issues this month. I've always found people and their different belief's fascinating (and respect everyone's right to make critical decisions that are compatible with their beliefs!). So, I always imagined I would be willing to guide patient's and their families through these tough conversations but this month was my first real exposure to being the person to have these conversations as opposed to being a part of the team at the family meeting or whatever. I wouldn't say I enjoy these conversations.. but there is an aspect of satisfaction knowing that you, the provider, are helping this patient & family navigate through this tough time. I get uncomfortable when these conversations are delegated to anyone else because I'm typically attached to my patients and want to make sure they are done right! Is that prideful? It's not that I don't trust other providers.. It's more that I am just a little bit of a control freak. No new news there!
My biggest issue I still have to work on (okay, probably not the biggest, but important to my sanity) is how to fall back asleep after, for example, I'm awoken at 0400 and called to a patient's bedside. At least I get a fair amount of reading accomplished on call nights because of this issue! I typically just hop back into bed and open iBooks on my phone until I doze off or I get another page.. whichever comes first. But it's not uncommon for me to lay in bed for another 30-40 minutes before I fall asleep (even when I've had next to none so far that night). I am incredibly grateful that I can function on these long shifts with pretty minimal effort, but, it would be even better if I trained myself to sneak in a little more sleep!
Alright, enough of this post-call rambling. Outside of work right now, T and I are loving dreaming about our trip to Europe. We spend our downtime researching tour companies and looking forward to time away. My dad officially retired Friday!! That means we are one step closer to celebrating with my parents on our big trip!
We're hoping to snag some time outdoors in the warm Spring weather that is predicted this week. I love this beautiful time in Nebraska where the weather is gorgeous and fresh -- and the humidity and bugs have not yet arrived :) Love you all!
xo,
Krista
PS - if you're looking for something to put you in the Easter mood, I love this video:
I also learned more about myself as a physician. We had a lot of end-of-life issues this month. I've always found people and their different belief's fascinating (and respect everyone's right to make critical decisions that are compatible with their beliefs!). So, I always imagined I would be willing to guide patient's and their families through these tough conversations but this month was my first real exposure to being the person to have these conversations as opposed to being a part of the team at the family meeting or whatever. I wouldn't say I enjoy these conversations.. but there is an aspect of satisfaction knowing that you, the provider, are helping this patient & family navigate through this tough time. I get uncomfortable when these conversations are delegated to anyone else because I'm typically attached to my patients and want to make sure they are done right! Is that prideful? It's not that I don't trust other providers.. It's more that I am just a little bit of a control freak. No new news there!
My biggest issue I still have to work on (okay, probably not the biggest, but important to my sanity) is how to fall back asleep after, for example, I'm awoken at 0400 and called to a patient's bedside. At least I get a fair amount of reading accomplished on call nights because of this issue! I typically just hop back into bed and open iBooks on my phone until I doze off or I get another page.. whichever comes first. But it's not uncommon for me to lay in bed for another 30-40 minutes before I fall asleep (even when I've had next to none so far that night). I am incredibly grateful that I can function on these long shifts with pretty minimal effort, but, it would be even better if I trained myself to sneak in a little more sleep!
Alright, enough of this post-call rambling. Outside of work right now, T and I are loving dreaming about our trip to Europe. We spend our downtime researching tour companies and looking forward to time away. My dad officially retired Friday!! That means we are one step closer to celebrating with my parents on our big trip!
We're hoping to snag some time outdoors in the warm Spring weather that is predicted this week. I love this beautiful time in Nebraska where the weather is gorgeous and fresh -- and the humidity and bugs have not yet arrived :) Love you all!
xo,
Krista
PS - if you're looking for something to put you in the Easter mood, I love this video:
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