Work smarter, work happier

It is 6am, I am just getting to bed. I was last here 23 hours ago. Yesterday I had lecture at 8am then an afternoon in clinic and an overnight helping out on L&D. I had work, but I also had down time. It was a long night, but I didn’t have to round and I didn’t have to stay through sign out. I was lucky also that I am on a rotation that starts with lecture at 8 and not with rounding on patients 2 or more hours before that. I was just awake for 24 hours. It was hard. I’m tired. And yet it was 5 hours less than a usual Friday overnight shift when you are working on L&D. Appreciate the small gifts

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Today I had a postpartum visit with a patient I saw in the hospital, managed for a day and a half while she was sick, delivered her baby and saw for some postpartum follow up needs as well. By today, I only needed a quick perusal of her chart to remind myself of the details, I got to see her baby and we chatted casually about life. We were both disappointed that there won’t be any real reason for her to follow up with me anymore. It was so great to walk the path with someone so consistently!

I had 7 patients (in 8 slots, one was a double visit) today in my afternoon clinic. 5 of these patients were people I had either seen previously in clinic or seen in the hospital during their latest stay. 3 of them were Spanish speaking and I did their visits without an interpreter. None of my patients today were there for prenatal care though there was some pregnancy management involved along with the multiple gynecologic indications that brought people to see me.

Having continuity with patients is amazing. It is hard for most residency programs to accomplish. I am very proactive about encouraging patients to return to MY clinic. I make plans that I work hard to be able to follow up on myself and patients are usually game to come back when I’m available if it means getting some stability in their care. I look forward to having my own panel of patients someday!

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I’ve worked hard and long to achieve a place of knowledge and social capital to be able to live the way I want. I’m really close to the time when I get to make the decisions about where I go and how I live next. I’m excited by the prospect of being able to take care of myself, my children and to pick a frame for the next phase of my life based solely on my own criteria. Yeah, I gotta get a job offer, of course, but no more Matches, no more considering other people’s needs, no more compromise. Where do I want to go? Who do I want to work with? What do I want to do? It’s all up to me!

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I just worked 19 days in a row, had 2 days off and am about to work another 12 days in a row. On Sunday evening, after a full and exciting weekend, I snuck off for a quick dip in the pool. I LOVE living in a home with a pool, particularly b/c since I don’t have to take care of it at all. I was floating and swimming laps and looking at the sky and realized that I had an enormous sense of satisfaction and peace. I am happy. I’m happy. Wow, how great is that!

I had a rough childhood. Worse than many, not as bad as some. A pivotal time for me was when I was about 14 or 15, the age of going to the mall with friends. I started tossing coins in the fountain at the mall and making what has become my Go-To wish ever since, “ I wish to be happy.” I guess now that it has come true, it’s okay to tell the story! This wish was the start of my internal locus of control, my journey to becoming whole. It has taken a lot of years and after my kids were born I started to realize that I may not ever actually be finished. I’m amused now to think about when I had the audacity to think that I was “fixed” in the year or two before my kids arrived. Becoming a parent teaches you what charming mirrors your children can be, and how very much work you still have to do on yourself!