Wow! It's been awhile. For those of you who have been waiting with baited breath for a new post, sorry. I'm back, at least for a short little post.
Basically I don't have much to say except that I'm finished my second year of residency, and am now a "senior surgical resident," starting my third year of five. Now that two years are done, three more doesn't seem TOO long. Seems manageable, somehow. I was on call last night for that switch from June 30-July 1. After midnight I wasn't really sure whether I should be signing my name as an "R3" or "R2" but in the end decided to stick with R2 until the end of the shift. Starting tomorrow, though...
This morning also marked the end of my 6 months at the hospital I've been at since January. It was a great rotation. I learned a lot, and enjoyed working with the people I worked with. I can't say I'm sad that it's over, though. I'm ready to move on. I start Head and Neck/Ear, Nose, Throat surgery tomorrow for 3 months. I don't know ANYTHING about that part of the body...should be interesting. At least I'm not on call until July 8. Should give me a few days to figure things out before I'm on my own in the middle of the night. Speaking of call, now I actually get to do call the way people think of it. i.e. I get to be at home, or wherever else, and just have to go in if they need me. Seems much more civilized, somehow, than being forced to stay in the hospital for 30 hours straight. I'm also excited because the hospital I'll be at over the summer is a 5 minute walk from my apartment, so I can walk to/from work (except maybe in the middle of the night, when I'm too scared to do so).
Tomorrow morning I have an oral exam. We have them every 6 months in our program. It's supposed to be preparation for our final exams at the end of residency. So it's good, I guess. I'm not so much looking forward to it, but I imagine it'll be fine.
Parting comments from some of the nurses at the hospital were encouraging yesterday. The charge nurse on the surgical floor said she was very sad I was leaving, because I'd been a big asset to the surgical service. A bunch of the other nurses were saying the same thing, and all are hoping I'll come back. The nicest one, though, was down in ER at some unearthly hour like 3 or 4 in the morning. A nurse who I've had a fair bit of interaction with over the last 6 months asked if I was leaving, and when I said I was, she said that was too bad, because, "You make this place better." That was nice. I'm just thankful for the ongoing favour and good relationships that God is giving me wherever I go. I pray that the place is different because I've been there carrying His light and His love to the halls and the rooms for the past number of months.
So while I carry on to my third year, a number of my colleagues have finished their residencies. My med school friends who went into family medicine are finished. And to think, I was going to be a family doctor! Last weekend when I was on call, I got called to the Cardiac Care Unit at around 5 a.m. to see a patient. The resident who had called me happened to be one such classmate of mine. So I asked her if she was excited that she only had a week left of residency. She marched excitedly over to the white board in the nursing station, where a big number 3 was written. She said, "See that number? That's how many HOURS I have left of my residency!" I laughed and said, "See that number? That's how many YEARS I have left of mine!" Good for her, though, and for my other friends. I'm not ready to be done yet, anyways...it's a good thing they don't let surgeons loose after 2 years!
Anyways, there's the latest. Onwards and Upwards.
