Day in the life posts are always fun so today I'm sharing a pretty typical wards call day - this is the rough schedule of what a day looks like while "short call." An easy call day - because some days you can get 4 new admissions instead of 1, and some days rounds are interrupted by a rapid response or code blue and ICU transfer - so the day I'm sharing below is a nice calm one with no surprises lol!
Really quickly, our schedule works on a Q4 call system, meaning we work late until 9pm (or later) every fourth day. We work through weekends and holidays, getting a lucky "golden" weekend (meaning both Saturday and Sunday off) once a month. Here's roughly how it works:
Although it sounds bad, and is pretty exhausting, it is at least nice having those post-call days when you can theoretically get out around 1pm and have the rest of the day free. Without saying much more let's jump into the day!
Mornings are always hectic and involve lots of working as quickly as possible with rounds, consults, and early discharges if there are any, usually in the afternoons things can slow down a bit depending on admissions.
Like I said, this is a nice, slow call day, things can get much crazier, but like with everything else you learn to just go with it and adjust to the madness (or go mad yourself if you can't keep up)! As much as some days it sucks leaving the girls, I love working and I being a doctor. And the nice part is that in residency we are still constantly rotating through different blocks, so while this block is pretty intense and doesn't allow much time off, next month I do a rotation in the emergency department which allows for a lot more time at home with the girls (and the month before this I was doing outpatient primary care, again very schedule friendly). So there's light at the end of the tunnel!
Below I just wanted to share my typical wards outfit - for short call days we're supposed to actually get dressed, long call and post call days we can wear scrubs :) It's not strictly enforced so some days I just wear scrubs, but it's fun to get dressed for work when I actually have the time!
The necessities? Cute shoes that are most importantly COMFORTABLE! These are the absolute best, and look great with a dress, slim pants, or jeans on days off! They actually come in more colors too that you can find here at a bit higher price tag. Of course my white coat (I owned the short coat version of this lab coat my last year of medical school and absolutely loved it - the fabric was soft and thick, not stiff and easily wrinkled, and the fit was just perfect) - our hospital provides them this year, but if I had to buy my own I'd buy this one in a heartbeat. You can never go wrong with a simple knee length dress. And of course my stethoscope (the cheapest I've found it)! And almost forgot! The perfect bag - I've mentioned it multiple times (here and here), and right now it's finally on sale for $88! For the hospital I love a bag with lots of pockets to throw my stethoscope, snacks, pocket-sized books, pager, and more! And most importantly, although I love a good leather bag, for the hospital I prefer a material that I can wipe clean and try sanitizing so I'm not bringing MRSA home! PS- for long call and post call days when we're allowed to wear scrubs, my favorite brand is FIGS! The material make for the softest scrubs I've ever owned, the fits are modern and don't make me feel like I'm drowning in my pants, and they're even antimicrobial (and wrinkle free)! And even better for each pair purchased they donate a pair to healthcare workers in need! Get 15% off your entire order using code 'figsxlacquer’!
