Horseshoes

You know the saying "horseshoes up your ass"? Well, I think I have at least one jammed very far up my rear! Explains the big ass I guess ;-) The Internal Medicine rotation is supposed to be the busiest rotation of the year. Long days, juggling many patients, going to seminars and bedside learning sessions, and long nights of being on call with no sleep because nurses call you in the middle of the night for Tylenol orders. By the end of 8 weeks, students are exhausted and need an entire weekend of sleep just to feel normal. At least this is how is worked for some of my friends that have aleady done it.

Me? I go to the hospital at 8am where we have 1 hour of teaching. I am done seeing my 1 (yup that's right...one) patient by 9:15. I putz around until lunch when we have another hour of a lecture (and free lunch) and then usually another hour of teaching specifically for us med students. Then I putz around even more until 3:30-4 when it may be more acceptable to go home. My last 4 call shifts have afforded me AT LEAST 6 hours of SOLID sleep (my record is 8) and I have had maybe 2-3 calls from the wards each shift, none for Tylenol and none after 1am. My only complaint is that 'pager sleep' is not real sleep...my subconscious is still awake and ready to go and I am tired the next day ("poor me", as Firey Redhead would say!)

My only patient right now is actually being followed by the GI doctors and surgeons, so my senior resident told me that I don't even have to see him every day.

What's so hard about internal medicine?

I better knock on wood.