I'm really thank I have been posted to my current convalescence hospital. Compared to other hospitals, the workload is lighter. I don't have to admit many emergency patients which would require asking a proper history and performing a thorough clinical examination. Most of the patients I admit are transferred from the main hospital for convalescent care or are having elective surgery. Therefore most of their details are already on our electronic database and only requires a cut & paste approach. Of course for each patient I do ask how they are doing and assess their condition but it is much easier.
Most of the blood taking is performed by the nurses but I am proficient in taking blood, since I need to do it if the nurses can't, for example if they can't find a peripheral vein, for cross matching blood and when a blood culture is required. Most of the other stuff the nurses can do but usually require the house officers' signature. Interns do get ridiculous calls from nurses just to say what the blood results were and they require the interns to do nothing, just so that they are informed. Basically the nurses are covering their arses and shelving responsibility to the interns, in case something goes wrong.
Since I'm based around four floors in the current hospital, most of the time I'm running around like a headless chicken try to do all my tasks. One manages to sort out which is necessary and what can be left to a later time but I do manage to get off work at a reasonable hour, if you call six o'clock a reasonable hour. If fact I don't mind working to late. I don't have nothing much to do in the evenings. I'm just thankful I don't HAVE to revise or study when I get back in the evenings. Eventually I will have to study, since I can't remember how to read an ECG or what to do in particular situations but that will come later. Most of the evenings I'm bored to death now. Initially I had videos to watch on my notebook. Now I've run out of videos to watch and can't download any on the hospital internet networks. So I'll have to wait until I get back home to retrieve my videos. I can't be bothered to go out since that requires money and I can't watch a movie every day. So far I have resorted to buying some books and now am engaged in the fierce rivalry between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett (prize to the first person who knows which novel that comes from).
At times I'm grateful I am busy and at other times I wish I had something to do... like now.
1 comment:
It's Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
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