posted
I haven't pulled an all-nighter for a very, very long time. At one point, I decided to actually work a little during it and left the chatroom, and so did not get to say goodbye. Sorry about that. Very, very sad, too.
Headed for home now (still at work) to shower, change clothes, eat for first time since lunch (cinnamon dots pilfered from co-workers candy dish don't count), and come back to finish project which still isn't done. It will be, though. No fear. None at all. It's all okay. Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
katharina, I know it will be okay. You will plow through it with grace, and then it will be all the weirder when you try to get back to a normal schedule again. The mental exhaustion of the allnighter, zingy-nervedness from sleep deprivation, drowsy slumber in the hot afternoon sun, all combined together make one bizarre trip. (But hey, dagnabbit, I'm getting too old for there. )
What's the project? (or is it a secret?)
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
Not secret at all. I'm making pocket guides so the tech people can track their own tasks when people call in with concerns.
Okay, one hour of sleep - from 6:00 - 7:00. This is insane. I think I do this once every few months just to remind myself what it is like.
CT, didn't you have to do this all the time? I have friends in residency, and there's a whole lingo that has developed that indicates when is a and is not a good time to talk to them, depending on whether they are going on or off a 36-hour shift. I have decided, carefully, that they're nuts. Holy cow.
Right now, I'm huddled in my cubicle, my hair wet, with my Harry Potter blanket that I keep in my cubicle wrapped around my shoulders. And actually getting work done. Imagine what I could have finished if I'd started hours ago! Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
katharina, the short answer is that I still do fairly regularly, although less so than before. Our maximum is a 24-hour shift, but they can keep us for 6 additional hours as "training/educational purposes," so long as we aren't assigned new patients. The department tried to interpret that to mean that we could see new outpatients in clinics, thus freeing up the senior physicians from the associated dictations and paperwork. Luckily, it didn't fly. We do, however, continue to care for our prior inpatients while sleep-deprived.
Johns Hopkins Internal Medicine Residency has been threatened with losing its accredidation, which would mean that the whole program would be shut down. My own program was in the same position this last year.
The participating residents aren't crazy, but they are brainwashed. It's a remarkably Orwellian environment -- the accepted rhetoric is to be incensed that you will not be allowed to decide for yourself to work 100+ hour work-weeks and 40-hour call shifts. (???? Yes, Orwellian. Again, )
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
(what really, really pisses me off is that we have a wealth of data which clearly demonstrates how patient care suffers under this system )
quote:Right now, I'm huddled in my cubicle, my hair wet, with my Harry Potter blanket that I keep in my cubicle wrapped around my shoulders. And actually getting work done. Imagine what I could have finished if I'd started hours ago!
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
)![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
Luckily, it didn't fly. We do, however, continue to care for our prior inpatients while sleep-deprived.![[Mad]](mad.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
)![[Wave]](graemlins/wave.gif)
