What it's like to be an intern

So, I'm having a little light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel sensation, since I have only two weeks left on the general medicine floors as an intern. Wahoo! The never endingness of it all can kind of get to you...

Since this night on call is being kind of slow (knock on wood) I thought I would share what it's like to be an intern. We are, of course, on the new and improved schedule since the duty hours got restricted to 80 hours per week, and we're not supposed to work longer than 26 hours at a time... Though we don't always come in at less than the 80 hours...

A regular 'short' day starts at around 6:30 and ends between 4:30 and 6:00, depending on the day. A 'long' day starts at the same time but ends not earlier than 8:30 and as late as 12:30, depending on the day. Overnights start at 8:00 pm and end around noonish the next day. Between night and long, nights are way better, because you get to sleep in before you come in, and late in the shift, when you're most tired, other people are there to handle all the extraneous crap and you can concentrate on getting out the door. Longs suck, because late in the shift when you're most tired, you're the only one to handle crap and your pager goes off constantly, making it nearly impossible to get stuff done. And no matter how late you get out, you have to show up bright and early for a whole day the next day. Thumbs down on that.

If I thought that being a doctor in the long term was going to be like intern year, I might have a problem with that.

Luckily, there are jobs available at all levels of intensity, depending on what you're looking for.

I just need to figure out where I'd like to live in the long term, because someday, I'd like to stay somewhere.

And not be exhausted all the time. (I know, crazy talk...)


:)