torture

I'm currently doing a month of the general care nursery. This is where all the near-term or term, healthy babies go. Sounds like a relatively easy, plainless rotation right?

WRONG!

I have to be up at 5am, to get to the hospital around 5:45am, in order to see all the new babies that were born overnight. This ranges from 1 to ... infinity. The unpredictability of how long it's going to take me to see all the patients, DRIVES ME CRAZY. I'm a control-freak. So this is very stressful for me. Not to mention... there is a mountain of paperwork for every single little thing and little boxes to check off for hearing tests, newborn screens, discharge talks, discharge bilirubins, etc. It's so easy to forget or get confused amongst all the new healthy babies. I'm terrified of making a mistake.

Plus these early mornings are going to kill me.

On the plus side, the babies are ADORABLE. Makes me want to have one. At least until they start screaming their lungs out. :) But I love being able to feed them, if I have some down time in the afternoons. They're SO CUTE!

Enough about work... there are so many parties and get-togethers going on in the next couple weeks, it's insane. A friend is having a going-away party tomorrow, then there are two birthday parties on Saturday, I have a friend from out of town who I might try to see on Sunday... and then next Friday through Sunday, I'm flying to New York to visit friends, most notably Naty whom I know from Oxford. But that Friday night, there is another going-away party. etc etc etc. Oh and RoRo is back in town this week looking for an apartment. I can't wait to have him back in Chicago for good. He makes me laugh because he's so silly but takes himself so seriously! :)

Intern year is almost over and I'll be in California for a week, in no time!!!

already a year

Tomorrow is my last overnight call in the hospital as an intern! I can't believe how fast this year has gone.

Ironically, my previous post was about a patient that was discharged from the hospital after being there for 6 months... this past week, this patient had to be re-admitted to our intensive care unit. I'm not sure of the details, but it sounds like a huge miscommunication occured about the multiple medications that the patient was supposed to take. I worked so hard to make sure the patient's transition for home went smoothly, but obviously it didn't. I feel responsible for not making sure that the parents understood exactly what their responsibilities were going to be at home, despite the fact that they were going to have home nursing help. I feel defeated.

A friend of ours is leaving Chicago in a couple days, for Seattle. We're meeting up at an Ethiopian restaurant called Ras Dashen. Several months ago, we went to Ethiopian Diamond and I loved it, so I'm looking forward to a similar experience!

a success and a disappointment

Today, I discharged a patient from the hospital who has been there for almost 6 months.

Today, my grant application wasn't chosen to be funded.

happy mother's day

I wish I could be home to celebrate Mothers' Day with my mom and grandma. But work calls...

I had a nice call Friday night, admitted only 2 patients, and actually slept a decent amount.

This weekend, I did a lot more shopping than I originally intended. I got two pairs of shoes from DSW. I'm so excited about the new location in the South Loop! I then went to Bed Bath and Beyond... it's funny how I always seem to come out of there with more than I thought I needed. Lots of baking pans, a hand-mixer, etc. I'm going to spend the rest of the day baking a couple cakes. It's a test-run for my senior resident's birthday on Tuesday, when we're next on call.

Last night, we re-visited Honey 1 BBQ. I was so torn between the pulled pork sandwich and the ribs but ended up getting the ribs... they were tasty, though perhaps a little dry. Next time, I'm definitely trying the pulled pork. We also need to go to Smoque some time soon.

An update from the previous post: My two seniors got me a bottle of champagne for the champagne tap! :)

clear fluid!

A common procedure that we, pediatricians, do are spinal taps, otherwise known as lumbar punctures. When we stick the needle in just right, the spinal fluid comes out completely clear, without any red blood cells. Back in February, I had a spinal tap with 1 red blood cell found microscopically per 1 ml of spinal fluid. Close, but not completely bloodless.

Yesterday, I did a spinal tap on a 10 year old and got 0 red blood cells. A champagne tap!

The tradition is that the senior person (resident, attending, etc) buys the resident who got a champagne tap a bottle of champagne. :) Except this was for a neurology patient so I doubt the neurology residents even noticed but still! it's celebratory!

burnt out

I'm 1.5 months away from being DONE with my intern year and I can't fucking wait. I feel I've had a great year... I've learned a lot. and even though I don't feel ready to be a senior with more responsibility, I'm really excited to not be an intern anymore. I'm sick of all the bullshit that we have to deal with, all the paperwork, all the menial tasks that really aren't part of my job description in terms of patient care but somehow, I'm expected to suck it up and pretend like it's great to be a slave.

My mom is coming to town this weekend. We have tickets to see The Color Purple and we have reservations for afternoon tea at the Peninsula. Very excited!! I hope the weather behaves!