Rest

I'm remembering how valuable a day off is. After three 12+ hour shifts in a row, today is a much needed day of rest. Although I enjoyed each and every day off last month, I must admit that this day off feels a little sweeter - like I really earned it. Not only does my body needed a break from standing in bad shoes for countless hours, dehydration, and sleep deprivation, my mind is also begging for a little less action. The ER seems to be especially draining. I literally was going for nearly twelve and a half hours straight with the exception of one 20 minute break when I escaped to shovel down a salad (with the added challenge of not having a fork)! I want to do a good job, but at the same time understand that I'm not training to be an ER resident. My focus has been on patient care and less on how to efficiently "move the meat" as they say. (In other words, how to get patients in and out, in a less than tasteful phrase.) I am definitely learning a new appreciation for what they do.

On-call nights for the inpatient medicine service might be longer (as in 18 hours longer), but these last days have been equally exhausting. It very well could be that I'm just "out of shape" and it is always difficult to get used to a new environment, system, and group of people. So I'm hoping that I get adjusted and toned up for next weekend with 4 long days in a row and, in the not so distant future, a month of Ob, followed by a month of inpatient pediatrics, followed by back-to-back months of inpatient wards at University. I'm getting palpitations just thinking about it!

I knew this year was going to be challenging, and instead of focusing on the stressful parts, I keep reminding myself that this is a learning experience I'll only "get" to do once. I should take advantage of it. But for now, I'm going to take advantage of a little rest.