whirlwind

My life is a whirlwind. I'm in the process of moving into my new house, doing intern orientation, and trying not to panic about my upcoming First Day of Being Someone's Doctor.

I start on Wednesday. On 30 hour call. In the Critical Care Unit.

Between now and then, I have a few more curtains to install, bookcases to set up and boxes to unpack. I would also like to maybe, possibly, spend all of Tuesday getting ready for my upcoming day. I will spend Wed 6am-Thursday 10am admitting new patients, writing (and dictating!) H&Ps, and cross-covering for the 28 patients who will be under my care overnight. Fortunately, there will be a second year resident there with me (or I'm pretty sure someone might die, and not just me.)

This Saturday, I spent the entire day with my fellow IM interns learning Advanced Cardiac Life Support. Despite it seeming rather overwhelming at first, I was surprised how much I learned throughout the day. Though I doubt I'll have to run a code on my own anytime soon -though you never know- I'm pretty surprised by the fact that I can remember most of the algorithms...even an entire day later.

Today, about 16 of us from my intern class got together, bought cold beer and snacks, rented some rafts, and floated down the Sacramento river for a few hours. It was a great day. Starting Wed, none of us will have the same day off together again for an entire year, but we will definitely need to get along, and take care of each other in these difficult few months. A bit of bonding in the sun may just have guaranteed that even in our most exhaustive, darkest hours, we will not feel alone.