I'm getting kind of sick of this neurology rotation, but it is providing some valuable insight into the nature of what I want to do with my life. Here's today's episode of frustration:
Yestederday, 4:30 PM: Attending says "I'll see you in the morning. I have a meeting that will be over at 10, give me a call after that"
Today,
8:30 AM- Morning report...2 of our patients are presented by the medical residents, I learn a little bit
9:15 AM- Report ends, go to coffee shop to blow off 45 minutes waiting for attending
10:00- Call attending, who doesn't answer, leave voicemail
10:30: Call attending, who still doesn't answer, leave voicemail with pager number because I know he doesn't remember it
Noon: Attending pages and asks us to meet him in Radiology in 5
12:04: medical students and NP arrive at radiology ready to start the day
12:10: No sign of attending
12:15: Attending shows up, talks to radiologist about golf for 5 minutes, radiologist says the patient's scans are fine
12:20: Go to noontime conference
1:15: call attending to meet, he's still eating lunch...call back at 2
2:00: call attending to meet, says to meet at this patient in 5, head up and print out everything needed for a consult and play 'find the chart'
2:30: Attending strolls onto the floor, sees the patient and dictates his note
3:00: Another consult, med students play 'find the chart' for 10 minutes and then attending does the neuro exam
3:30: Another consult, another game of 'find the chart' but we can't find the patient either...he gives a brief lecture on MG and then we BS about the stock market, iPhones, his kids.
4:00: Patient arrives, he does the consult while we watch
4:30: Called for a frequent flier in the ED...he whines about having to go there, we talk him into going to see her, he says that he'd like to keep it less than 20 minutes if possible
4:52: Finishes dictating his note on a silly CYA consult...
4:53: As we walk out of the ED, "Well that wasn't so bad, I'm glad we decided to go see her. Have a nice evening"
Total time in the hospital: 8.5 hours
Total time doing anything productive: 30 minutes playing 'find the chart', 10 minute lecture on MG, 2 minutes removing socks and performing babinski's= 42 minutes of actual educational time towards the specialty of Neurology.
--------------------------------------------------------
So I think I've made the 'doing' vs 'thinking' decision in my career decision tree. Thinking sucks...I really don't think I could take 30 years of sitting around and hypothesizing what the hell is wrong with patients...I need to have something going on, I need some sort of end-goal directed activity to get through...not just a bunch of people chilling in beds waiting to get better. I need a stack of charts, or an OR schedule, or a patient schedule...this in-hospital endless rounding thing just isn't my cup of tea.
Yestederday, 4:30 PM: Attending says "I'll see you in the morning. I have a meeting that will be over at 10, give me a call after that"
Today,
8:30 AM- Morning report...2 of our patients are presented by the medical residents, I learn a little bit
9:15 AM- Report ends, go to coffee shop to blow off 45 minutes waiting for attending
10:00- Call attending, who doesn't answer, leave voicemail
10:30: Call attending, who still doesn't answer, leave voicemail with pager number because I know he doesn't remember it
Noon: Attending pages and asks us to meet him in Radiology in 5
12:04: medical students and NP arrive at radiology ready to start the day
12:10: No sign of attending
12:15: Attending shows up, talks to radiologist about golf for 5 minutes, radiologist says the patient's scans are fine
12:20: Go to noontime conference
1:15: call attending to meet, he's still eating lunch...call back at 2
2:00: call attending to meet, says to meet at this patient in 5, head up and print out everything needed for a consult and play 'find the chart'
2:30: Attending strolls onto the floor, sees the patient and dictates his note
3:00: Another consult, med students play 'find the chart' for 10 minutes and then attending does the neuro exam
3:30: Another consult, another game of 'find the chart' but we can't find the patient either...he gives a brief lecture on MG and then we BS about the stock market, iPhones, his kids.
4:00: Patient arrives, he does the consult while we watch
4:30: Called for a frequent flier in the ED...he whines about having to go there, we talk him into going to see her, he says that he'd like to keep it less than 20 minutes if possible
4:52: Finishes dictating his note on a silly CYA consult...
4:53: As we walk out of the ED, "Well that wasn't so bad, I'm glad we decided to go see her. Have a nice evening"
Total time in the hospital: 8.5 hours
Total time doing anything productive: 30 minutes playing 'find the chart', 10 minute lecture on MG, 2 minutes removing socks and performing babinski's= 42 minutes of actual educational time towards the specialty of Neurology.
--------------------------------------------------------
So I think I've made the 'doing' vs 'thinking' decision in my career decision tree. Thinking sucks...I really don't think I could take 30 years of sitting around and hypothesizing what the hell is wrong with patients...I need to have something going on, I need some sort of end-goal directed activity to get through...not just a bunch of people chilling in beds waiting to get better. I need a stack of charts, or an OR schedule, or a patient schedule...this in-hospital endless rounding thing just isn't my cup of tea.
1 comment:
You've been tagged :-)
Post a Comment