Part of that world

Yesterday I learned that the labor nurses have a nickname for me.

When I first heard this, I thought, "Yikes. Nothing good comes from this." What was it? I thought I had really good rapport with them, at least with the day team whom I've really enjoyed working with this year. Was it something mean? Patronizing? Something to put me in my place, take the resident down? I had not seen this coming.

Turns out, it was none of the above.

You see, they have started referring to me as "Ariel." A few months ago I died my hair red (the goal was Addison Shepherd red...this also works as Ariel red). And on the labor floor I wear green snakeskin (?fishscale) Dansko clogs. Thus...Ariel. And, to quote Donna, the labor nurse who told me about my new name, "because I'm so sweet." Awwwwww!



I'll definitely take that. And I don't think the seashell bra would really be appropriate on the labor floor.

Gratifying

Can I just say, it's really, really awesome when a patient wants to take a picture of you holding her newborn before she goes home from the hospital? I delivered her baby and tied her tubes, and she couldn't be happier. This is a truly amazing job.

Glycemic control

Sometimes I feel like a small child on call. For example, when I look back on the night and realize my PO intake consisted primarily of:

-apple juice (from the labor floor juice machine "for patients only")
-graham crackers (from the ER cracker box - saltines or graham, take your pick)
-peanut butter M&Ms (from the triage nurse who said I "look like I need some food")

Good thing I'm not diabetic. Oh, yeah, I also had french fries for lunch. Because I got down to the cafeteria after the "real food" was finished, and I had the forethought to realize that a salad just was not going to cut it. One of the silver linings of calls like last night is you feel totally justified in the amount of junk you eat. M&Ms and all, I still didn't get enough calories to make up for a) my basal requirements or b) my running around like a crazy woman. I need to hire someone to spoon feed me mac and cheese while I write notes or I'm going to whither away.

In other career news, I start my first day of my first Maternal-Fetal Medicine rotation tomorrow. I'm so nervous. More nervous than I've been for a long time. It's like a first date with someone I really, really like. Is this going to work? Is this for me? Could we make a go of it for the long haul? What should I wear? (Cough...I may have ordered fancy new scrub caps in hopes of wearing them on this rotation...oh, yeah...) The more I learn about MFM, the more I think it might be what I want to do with my life. It's complex and dramatic and emotional...you can see why I might like it. It's about thinking like a medicine doc and cutting like a trauma surgeon. It's about saving lives - two at a time (sometimes three or four at a time). It's about being the resource for patients whose babies you cannot save. And, unlike what my med school MFM department led me to believe, it is NOT just about diabetes.