Wednesday, May 25, 2011

This Time Next Week...

I will be a doctor and I will be in Mexico. And hopefully I will be very relaxed and happy! That's all :)

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Oh Dear

It's starting to hit me that I will in fact be a real life doctor person very, very soon. Technically I will be a doctor May 27th once I am handed my diploma but I will not see any patients until July. So in my mind it doesn't really "count" until then.

I am on plastic surgery this month and just happened to be in the Women's and Infants' hospital yesterday for some oncoplastic breast reconstruction cases. Of course I ran into several of my soon to be fellow Ob/Gyn residents and attendings. PS - this is much more fun now that I know they like me - they really, really like me! *spoken in the voice of Sally Field winning the Oscar.* As I've said before - when you're working with these people and trying to make a good impression it's difficult to enjoy your time with them. At least that's the case for me anyway. I was always trying to appear eager but not annoying, helpful but not overbearing, funny but not inappropriate, etc... It's a tight-rope act and you never quite know what small move can make you lose your balance - and influence people's opinions about you.

Anyway, it was all happy times and "hey, what are you doing here?" type conversation and then one of the residents asked if I had my schedule yet. They were in the lounge.

THE SCHEDULE FOR THE NEXT YEAR OF MY LIFE WAS IN THE LOUNGE!!!!!!!!! 10 FEET AWAY!!!!

So of course I run in and pick one up. Here is what our intern year will consist of:

2 months of Gynecology (clinic, hysterectomies, post-menopausal bleeding, fibroids, etc...)

2 months of Labor and Delivery (12ish hour shifts of delivering babies :))

2 months of Clinic (clinic M-F, different every day)

2 months of "Dober" (this means Days OB Receiving aka the "pregnant lady ER", also is shiftwork)

1 month of OB I (scheduled c-sections, high risk clinic, rounding on PPROMers and postpartums)

1 month of HO I (house officer I - you carry a pager that beeps ALL THE TIME. You also do circumcisions, round on postpartums, etc...)

1 month of ADU (this means antenatal diagnostic unit. It's where they do the high tech fancy ultrasounds and amniocentesis)

1 month of ER (this is the regular adult ER. All OB residents love this rotation because you get 2 weeks off this month.)

Now that you know what those months are like, I will tell you that I was most terrified of starting out on Days OB Receiving. It's a busy, busy place. Essentially any pregnant lady that comes into the hospital starts out there. Also, not pregnant ladies, but ladies that think they might be pregnant. And gyn patients. Pretty much any Ob/Gyn patient starts there. Then I have to see them and decide if they go up to the Labor and Delivery Suite to deliver, go back home, get set up in clinic, get worked up for an operation, etc... It gets very busy and it gets backed up. And people can see how many patients you have even in the lounge 2 floors up. It's on a computer monitor. And they say things like - "Wow, OB receiving is really filling up." Oh dear. So without further ado, here's my own personal schedule:

July - Days OB Receiving (cue the screaming lambs)
August - Labor and Delivery Days
September - OB I
October - Gyn A
November - Clinic
December - HO I
January - ER
February - Labor and Delivery Nights
March - Gyn A
April - ADU
May - Days OB Receiving
June - Clinic

So I thought that was bad. Then I looked down at my dear fellow intern who I'm closest to in our class and she starts out on Labor and Delivery!!! In the past they didn't let interns run the L&D unit until we'd been doctors for a full 6 months. They're throwing us into the fire this year though.

And because I got so scared once I saw this schedule I did something I thought I wouldn't do. I started studying last night. For intern year. Just the things I knew I would use - like the first line of treatment for UTIs in pregnancy, and exactly what tests to order when you suspect Gonorrhea or Chlamydia. And steps to ruling out preterm labor.

Overall I'm pretty thrilled with my schedule. The "easier" (ha ha) months are interspersed pretty well with the more challenging ones. Now I am just anxious to see the call schedule. And wondering if the hours will change for any of these blocks...