MJones's blog

Medicine sucks. It's emotionally difficult rather than academically challenging.
I know of very few 'happy' medics here, but maybe that's just us.

Everyone has the look of impending doom on their face at the moment. Possibly due to rapidly approaching deadlines.

Oddly, all I can seem to do at the moment is sleep. Sleep far too much.

Yesterday I missed a full day because I actually couldn't get out of bed. Maybe stress is manifesting itself physically, but my back and legs just weren't playing.

Not happy shoulders and neck today, but at least I left the pit.

My white hairs have started appearing from under the hair dye, and all I want to do is sleep for a hundred years.

Medicine sucks.

Last night I finished a full day at uni and went to do a twilight shift at work. 19.00 hours to 02.00 hours.

This morning I was up at 08.30 to get some uni stuff sorted, and then back this afternoon at work for a 1400 hours start. This time though, I didn't know which ward I was to be working on, as I agreed to be the locum HCA. This kinda means that I'm at the beck and call of the staffing managers, and if they say jump, I do kartwheels.

The powers that be sent me onto an orthopaedic ward - could be worse. Familiar faces to work with, a generally nice team.... and the opportunity to soak myself in someone else's urine after the collection bottle used to empty the catheter bag appeared to have a hole in it.

I got absolutely soaked in cold wee, all the way down my tunic top and trousers. I had to rescue my mobile phone from my pocket as it too was covered... Not nice.

I quite like nightshift work, except for the sleep issue.

Staff I work with seem to have massive problems sleeping during the daytime, and consequently get a severe lack of sleep before starting work at 7pm.

I appear to have the opposite problem, in that I seem to sleep much better during the day than I would otherwise do after a day shift.

Home at 0800 I hop in the shower, stick my uniform in the washing machine and head off to bed. If I remember to set the alarm I'll get up again at lunchtime to take the uniform out and stick it on the radiator and then go back to bed. Otherwise, I'll sleep solidly through.

I've had a few really interesting night shifts lately - apart from having to have my name added to a list of staff who closely nursed a gentleman with suspected TB (and no-one knew about it...). I just hope my BCG will protect me if it does turn out that way...