Wednesday, August 13, 2008

For those of you keeping score, I have 11 days left of this rotation and 3 more calls. Call = staying overnight = 31 hour shifts (oops! I mean "30" hours, ACGME). Last time I was on call I got 45 minutes of sleep. And during those 45 minutes the Family Medicine resident in the call room next to mine was doing a pretty poor job of answering his pages promptly, so his pager kept beeping and beeping.

So far, I haven't actually lashed out at anyone, but let me tell you something. There is very little that makes me angrier than when I am post-call but still about 6 hours away from going home and I am on the elevator with people who are not physicians or medical students and they are complaining about having to work a 12 hour shift that day. Come on, I worked 12.5 hours today and it was my short day. I never express that anger, because I know this schedule is my own fault. Yes, I'm paying for the privilege to work like this. I chose this. But, still, could you people wait to complain about your tough schedules until there is not some half-dead medical student slumped against the elevator wall? You've been around. You know the signs of post-call misery. Show some tact.

Today my intern said that he sensed some frustration and anger beneath the surface in me. I wonder what he meant.

5 comments:

Jennie said...

Yikes! I can't even imagine being awake that long. I'll never complain about my work schedule EVER AGAIN.

Tam said...

You should have told him you were constipated.

Tam said...

KJ you have to tell an embarrassing story okay?

Anonymous said...

I certainly know what you mean, Karen. So many have the same obliviousness as Maria Theresa she said (loosely translated), "If they have no bread, then why don't they eat cake?" (It wasn't Marie Antoinette as most report.)

And you were cranky as a child if you didn't get enough sleep. I can see how this could be interpreted as sub-surface anger.

Also, I hear you blasted your boards entirely out of the water. Great job!!

L, Aunt J

Anonymous said...

Hey, I thought there were controls now on how long they could make you work as a resident/intern without a break!