Life as a doctor is selfless and selfish at the same time

It was 5:45 in the morning on a Monday after a full weekend of call. Thoroughly exhausted, I shuffled into the elevator and was met by the stench of stale clothing mixed with cigarette smoke. A painfully thin teenager exited, looking lost. I allowed him to wander out, grateful to be spared his odor. I was apathetic, overtaken by a weariness I vowed as a medical student never to have. Morning rounds passed without incident. All our CABG patients were more or less stable. I collected each patient’s overnight events, vital signs, laboratory values, daily chest X-ray, EKG, fluid balance and wound status. With my attending’s blessings, I titrated their blood pressure drips to protect their blood vessels, kept them sedated and paralyzed if they were mechanically ventilated, fed them benzodiazepines if they were alcoholics and added or subtracted tubes and lines as needed. Eager for a post-rounds lull, I sank into a chair in the cardiac care unit and opened my email. Because I was still around, a nurse asked me to renew some orders for electronic housekeeping. Then the pager rang with a consult, and my lull was over. The consult was for Roy, an elderly gentleman with a history of a recent valve replacement who needed to be on anticoagulation. He was being followed regularly at his Coumadin clinic, where his INR was checked biweekly and blood thinner dose adjusted appropriately. Continue reading ... Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputati...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Physician Cardiology Hospital-Based Medicine Surgery Source Type: blogs