Weekending at the hospital

Monday, September 21, 2015

I don't have much to report about my weekend unfortunately. I worked 12 hour shifts at the hospital on Saturday AND Sunday… bleh. And my next day off isn't until Saturday. Thats 7 straight days of [unpaid] work, woof. Enough complaining, I technically signed up for this when I began PA school, right? I thought I'd give you guys a glimpse into a normal on-call day during my inpatient internal medicine rotation.

Before I began this rotation I was unsure of what it would entail. It's basically caring for people that are hospitalized due to chronic illnesses such as congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chest pain (we always rule out heart attacks before sending them home), complications with diabetes, etc.


5:10am alam goes off… ughhh. Get ready, eat oatmeal, pack a snack

6:10 leave the house and head to the hospital

6:40am report in the physician's lounge for "check out". This is when the residents that were on night shift let us know if anything changed with our patients over night. We hope there is nothing to report because no news is good news, right?

7:10am Log on to the hospital computers and check on all my patients for the day. Look up all their lab values, radiology reports, nurse's notes from overnight, and any other tests or scans we ordered.

8:00am Go see all my patients. Make sure nothing has changed with their health status, see how they're feeling, and do a physical exam on them.

9:00am Report back to the physician's lounge and write notes on all my patients. My attending should be arriving soon. This doctor is at the top of the "ladder", above me and the residents I'm with. We report our patients to the attending, let him/her know how our patients look/feel, any changes in lab values, what we want to do with them that day, etc.

10:30am Go back and see all the patients with the attending. This usually takes forever because we have anywhere from 5-15 patients to see that are scattered all over our huge hospital. Families are usually in the rooms and are prepared with long lists of questions to ask the attending. It is usually the attending, myself, a medical student, an intern (1st year resident), and senior (3rd year resident).

1:00pm Grab something to eat. Usually pre-packaged sushi or a salad… not a huge fan of hospital food but it's not awful.

1:30pm Head back to the lounge and put in orders. This includes anything that the attending wants to order after having seen the patients including labs, x-rays, CT scans, procedures, medications, etc. After putting in all the orders, I update notes on all our patients.

4:00pm This is when we usually have people that need to be assessed in the ED (emergency department). On the days where my team is on call (every 4th day) we are responsible for seeing all the patients that come to the ED that the ED physicians think need to be admitted for serious medical conditions. When we get paged by the ED physicians we head down and do a full work-up on that patient. This includes getting a history, making sure we know all the medications they are taking, do a physical exam, order labs and tests, etc. If we decide that patient is in serious enough condition to be admitted, we have a bunch of paper work to fill out to get them a room.

7:00pm Report back to the overnight residents and physicians about the current state of our patients. This includes any pending lab results, tests, etc.

7:45pm Get HOME where my amazing husband has dinner already prepared. Eat, shower, pack my bag for tomorrow.

9:30pm The best part of the day… GET IN BED. My feet are throbbing and my back aches. It's hard to fall asleep after drinking 5 cups of coffee throughout the day. Whew. Not ready for that 5:10am alarm.

slightly dramatic, but this is how I feel 99% of the time… 74 more days #ithinkican

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24 comments :

  1. Woof, lady, you are a hard worker to say the least. I hope your day off comes quicker than you expect. Thank you for choosing to serve and save people, we are so lucky to have amazing women like you in the world! :)

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  2. Get it girl - you work hard and it will pay off soon!!! I think the best part of my day is getting into bed too! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston

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  3. You are rocking and taking care of business (and patients)! Hopefully the week goes by quickly and so does the rest of PA school! You're definitely in a hard line of work, but so needed and rewarding--just another reason you rock! :)

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  4. You've got this!! I'm so thankful for people like you (with your heart) doing this work!! We need your compassion.

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  5. Wow you sure are busy gurlie! You've got this, and it'll be the weekend before you know it! I have so much admiration for those in healthcare, and all that you do so selflessly for such long hours. Amazing <3

    Green Fashionista

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  6. Dang girl. To say you have a busy day would be an understatement. But you are rocking PA school and it will all pay off soon enough! What a sweet hubby to have dinner ready for you when you get home! And I'm already looking forward to getting into bed tonight! Happy Monday!
    <3, Pamela
    Sequins & Sea Breezes

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  7. phew girl i don't know how you do it! but i appreciate you for it! you're a rockstar and you'll be over before you know it? ok that's not accurate BUT it's all worth it in the end :) happy monday love!

    xoxo cheshire kat

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  8. Ohhh I love in a day-in-the-life post! Especially when it's about a lit that's so different than mine! It sounds like so much work for you, but remember it's just a season. I think about Grad School, and and "ohmywordhow did I get through it??" comes to mind. The similar exhaustion, lack of sleep, the getting up so early that you pour creamy body wash on your head in the shower without realizing what you're doing... so happy you have a husby that helps out to take care of you! And really, it's going to be over before you know it.

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  9. Busy lady! But good for you for putting the time in. It will all be worth it soon! Hope you have some fun time planned off soon!

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  10. I agree!! It'll all be worth it soon - such a great sacrifice but an awesome reward!! You go girl!! So thankful for everyone in the medical field, you all work so hard!

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  11. Wow, you are a very busy lady. It will all be worth it in the end. That is so sweet that your hubby has dinner ready for you. That is a keeper for sure.

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  12. It was so interesting to read this day in the life post! You are awesome to work such long hours and on your feet all day! Good luck with the next 74 days!

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  13. That was so interesting! I was wondering how that all worked with you working in the hospital. You definitely can do it; as my MIL likes to say, "You can do anything for a short while." :)

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  14. I have always had major respect for all those in the medical industry because I was not cut out for that life, but WOAH. I honestly don't know how you do it. Just keep going!!

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  15. I have the utmost respect for those that work in the medical field. Brian's hour's are crazy long and I just don't know how he/others in healthcare do it! I have a similar 'work day breakdown' post that I'm working on too! It's so fun seeing a glimpse into other people's day.

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  16. You are certainly busy! I cannot imagine 7 days of work in a row, let alone 7 days of unpaid. Keep up the good work!
    www.amemoryofus.com

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  17. You certainly have my respect! I'm exhausted after my 8-5 day so I can't even imagine! It was fun to read about your day! I slightly felt like I was living a day on Grey's Anatomy. (:

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  18. Man I can only imagine how wonderful laying in bed feels after a day like that. I work closely with an APN & PA-C and completely respect all the countless hours they put in to make sure all the patients are seen and reported on, kudos to you and you can so do it, almost at that finish line!!!

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  19. Oh man, you're handling those long, unpaid days like a champ! I can't image doing that every day, especially for 12 hours and for free. Keep it up, you're almost there!!

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  20. You got this! You are so close to being finished and it's going to be worth it! Xo, Stephanie

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  21. Get it girl... long days, but it will all be worth the work, the blood, sweat and the tears. And with your big heart, you're exactly the kind of person the medical field needs! xx

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  22. Those are super long days! But you are doing really awesome and important work - thank you!! - Svetlana @Life With a Side of Wine

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  23. I love how you set this up and to get a little peek into one of your days - it was so interesting to read! You are one busy lady - way to go!

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