Good morning blog-readers and welcome to the new and improved Dr J!2 weeks of annual leave have left me a new man; "full of happy thoughts... all the time!"*
In a quirky twist of fate (and a lot of manipulating via multiple phone calls almost bordering on harassment) I ended up doing a 4 way term swap which means instead of being thrust back into ED, I found myself arriving back to The Zoo on night shift in cardiothoracic intensive care (CTICU).
When I found out I would be covering CTICU on nights by myself I kinda panicked! I had done a total of 2 days ICU as a student and learnt nothing from it. I didn't know what the beeping noises or tubes did. I had never done cardiothoracics either and didn't know what a LIMA or IABP** were.
When I arrived I found a big trolley with a drape over it parked next to my patients. It read "Open heart trolley - Emergency Only". Not a good sign! I found the CTICU fellow, a rather nice British doctor who quickly allayed my fears.
"Have you ever done ICU before?" I sheepishly shook my head.
"Have you ever done ICU before?" I sheepishly shook my head.
"Sorry, yesterday I was an intern, today I'm a resident"
"That's a bit rough... no worries, how about I sit down with you and I'll teach you in one hour everything you need to know about CTICU"
"That's a bit rough... no worries, how about I sit down with you and I'll teach you in one hour everything you need to know about CTICU"
One hour later I felt comfortable enough to handle anything life threatening and actually understood PEEP, PAP, SVRI, CI, MAP and how to handle inotropes in patients who'd had open heart surgery.
Armed with dobutamine, noradrenaline and a set of the best nurses in the hospital, I felt well armed to deal with anything urgent that may arise during the night. As the fellow left, I was ready to keep these people alive until morning.
5 minutes after the boss left, the nurses looked at me strangely, "You DO know there's a room for the resident to sleep in overnight don't you?"
I looked kinda puzzled... what resident? Oh that's right... I'm no longer an intern!
The nurse in charge took me up to the cardiology department and showed me a small room tucked away with "Staff Only" printed on the doorway. Inside was a lavish bedroom with a nice freshly made bed and an ensuite with shower. Who said taxpayer's money was poorly spent?
6 hours later I awoke. It was half an hour till handover time so I scurried back to CTICU to print out morning blood results and tidy things up. The morning resident appeared right on time and I was home in bed soon after.
6 hours later I awoke. It was half an hour till handover time so I scurried back to CTICU to print out morning blood results and tidy things up. The morning resident appeared right on time and I was home in bed soon after.
Getting paid to sleep. This is the life!
3 nights later it's a similar picture. Sleeping 6 hours average per shift and getting paid to do so. Tonight we might not even HAVE any patients left in the unit.
And so begins PGY2... after this week I get a 'week off' to compensate. This term I will end up working a total of 5 weeks due to working nights. 5 weeks off! And none of them annual leave!
Welcome to residency!
* "Kung Pow - Enter the Fist"
** Left internal mammary artery and Intra-aortic balloon pump
** Left internal mammary artery and Intra-aortic balloon pump
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