Hello from the Caribbean

Greetings from the Dutch Caribbean! Believe it or not, I had no clue this island (or most of the others here) was Dutch-owned until I arrived here. Believe it or not again, I also had no clue where this island was (just off the coast of Venezuela). Pretty exotic locale for a simple little intern like me ...

 

Sitting on the beach with a tropical drink in hand is MUCH preferable to being in the hospital. I don't ever want to step foot in there again, and I am already dreading my return. My friend -- a surgical intern -- feels exactly the same way and more.

 

Only a few more days until paradise ends ... time to take advantage of it!

Happy Thanksgiving

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind what I am thankful for this Thanksgiving: not having to step foot into the hospital for two weeks. Yes, two weeks! Today marks the beginning of my two-week vacation, and I have no intention of getting near that damn hospital. I plan to take full advantage of this vacation, starting with turning off my pager followed immediately by a one-week trip to the Caribbean.

Driving home from the hospital this morning was also great, as the freeways were completely empty. It was the perfect opportunity to test out my new car's handling ... as well as its 0-100mph time.

OK, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

My Pager

If it goes off one more time within the next five minutes, I swear I'm
gonna throw it against the wall. I can't put my head down for a few
minutes without this annoying ass little box beeping loudly and
startling me.

Ideally, I'd put my pager AND the patients in a box ... and send them all away.

Random Thoughts 2

• I am in the CCU these days (cardiac care unit, i.e. ICU for heart patients) and am consistently working 15+ hour days most days of the week. It’s amazing how quickly this sort of schedule can eliminate most of your free time and kill any semblance of a social life.


• Being in the CCU, I am part of the code blue team and thus have to carry an additional pager … bringing my waistline to a total of two pagers (which also tends to pull my scrubs down). For the first few minutes, wearing both pagers made me feel cool. Then I felt like an ultra-dork. And now all I feel is double the anxiety and terror since I am attached to two leashes that can easily and quickly ruin my night.


• I hate nurses who useless send "FYI" pages. I often get text pages that say “FYI: pt X has blood sugar 85 and is asymptomatic”. If he’s asymptomatic, why page me?! I swear, if I get another one of these pages, I’m paging them back next time I’m in the bathroom saying “FYI: I'm taking a crap. But asymptomatic.”


• I bought a new car! New new, not new used. As much as I loved my old car, this new one makes the grieving process much easier.


• It is Saturday night, and I am home alone. Granted I'm on call tomorrow and need to get sleep tonight, but still ... could I be a bigger loser?