Nights

It has been an incredibly busy week. I finished up my week of overnights a couple of days ago and it has clearly done weird things to my sleeping schedule. Though I totally don't blame being up right now on my week of nights at school. This is because I just got off of work and I am due in at the hospital in a couple of hours. Sleep is overrated anyway. I really need to learn how to like coffee, but I digress. Nights was a good time. A totally different experience. Basically on nights you admit people to the different teams and keep them alive and stable until the day team comes in. Some nights were extremely busy with lots of admissions waiting for us when we got in and other nights were relatively quiet. We managed to make it through an entire season of House, though I missed parts of most episodes I got the general idea of each episode. It was a laid back atmosphere with everyone just trying to stay awake through the night. I saw lots of interesting cases, some sad cases, and practiced my auscultation and image reading skills. The resident I followed most of the week had lots of bits of advice to offer which were extremely helpful. I have seen 2 unvaccinated kids in the last couple of week(get vaccinated people it keeps you healthy.) I have seen countless abscesses in countless places. I can't think of anything more painful that having an abscess drained. Kids are not a huge fan. Imagine having a pimple that was several inches big and having someone push the pus out of it. You get the general idea.
I have seen some great parenting. Parents who just want their children to get better. Who love their children no matter what. Parents who show a huge amount of devotion to their children. They sleep on uncomfortable, short window couches for several days, eat cafeteria food, and call into work for a week. They support their children, make them laugh, and stay strong for them. On the flip side I have seen some not good parenting. Parents who skip nighttime feedings because they want to sleep through the night. Parents who stay at hotels for the week and roll in late into the morning and stay for an hour or two before leaving for the day. Not to mention a couple cases of abuse. These kids break my heart. I'd like to save the whole world. Though I know that isn't possible, I'm going to keep trying.

I also lost my stethoscope for a couple of day. It is an extremely stressful situation. I bought a lightweight replacement while I searched and searched. Finally I found it to my relief, but you never really know how much your expensive one means to you until you don't have it anymore. I am still trying to find the perfect scrubs. I tried a couple different brands this week in a couple different sizes. So far no luck on ones that are the right length and fit the right way. Maybe the next pair.

I'm very disappointed that this is my last couple of days on inpatient pediatrics. I have really loved the last month. As I was telling my big boss yesterday about the people who I have been working with at the hospital and the general attitude of the residents and attendings, I thought he made the perfect statement. "They are the way people are suppose to be or the way you wish people were." Happiness spawns more happiness. Happy people who love what they do and care about the people they help are inspiring. Somehow society undervalues those kind of people.

Being this busy has caused me to lose track of the world. Though I did a little catching up over social media one quiet night this week for the most part I have been MIA. On my way to work this evening I remember thinking, "I miss my mom." She texted me a couple hours later to check in. I guess she must miss me too. Choosing medicine you give up so much social time. You miss soccer games, sunday dinners, and friend time, but you appreciate the time you have even more. I definitely didn't know how much of a sacrifice dedicating my life to medicine would be, but I am still happy everyday that I did it. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else.