When I was in my final year of university, one of my fears was being called to insert an intravenous cannula into a challenging patient.
Then when I was an intern, handing over unwell patients to the night doctors, I dreaded being the night resident on the receiving end of that spiel.
It's not to say that I've never worked nights. As an intern, emergency department night shifts are compulsory. During my intensive care term, I worked just as many nights as I worked days. My medical roster this year consisted of four weeks of night shifts at a peripheral hospital. All of the above is bearable compared to the thought of being one of a handful of doctors covering a tertiary institution with complex (and crumbly!) patients.
I guess just as all good things (on earth) come to pass, all bad things... come. Eventually. I've done two shifts now, and spent my three days off barely able to leave my bed due to a particularly nasty flu. The one thing that's made it bearable is having company- coincidentally, quite a few of my friends have been rostered on night shifts this fortnight (at a variety of different hospitals). We keep each other sane through the nights.
I have also discovered a new found love of sunrise. I could appreciate the splendour of sunrise before. Now I can also appreciate the relief that it brings.
Here's hoping I'll be well enough for my next two night shifts this weekend.
Then when I was an intern, handing over unwell patients to the night doctors, I dreaded being the night resident on the receiving end of that spiel.
It's not to say that I've never worked nights. As an intern, emergency department night shifts are compulsory. During my intensive care term, I worked just as many nights as I worked days. My medical roster this year consisted of four weeks of night shifts at a peripheral hospital. All of the above is bearable compared to the thought of being one of a handful of doctors covering a tertiary institution with complex (and crumbly!) patients.
I guess just as all good things (on earth) come to pass, all bad things... come. Eventually. I've done two shifts now, and spent my three days off barely able to leave my bed due to a particularly nasty flu. The one thing that's made it bearable is having company- coincidentally, quite a few of my friends have been rostered on night shifts this fortnight (at a variety of different hospitals). We keep each other sane through the nights.
I have also discovered a new found love of sunrise. I could appreciate the splendour of sunrise before. Now I can also appreciate the relief that it brings.
Here's hoping I'll be well enough for my next two night shifts this weekend.
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