#39 / #40: Trauma-rama

I started a new service: Trauma Surgery.

However, I was only on the service for one week because... I am on vacation this week!!! Thank goodness, too, because I was getting a little burned out. The Trauma service is a lot busier than the previous services I've been on. We have three interns for the service - there are routinely 30+ patients on the service and at least 10 of them are intensive care status. For some reason however, during the first three days of the month I was the only intern working (due to vacation and weekend coverage) and so I was running my butt around the hospital desperate as could be. Every time I thought I'd get something under control another "red trauma" would come into the hospital. A red trauma is a level one trauma - or the highest acuity that a trauma could be. There was one trauma on my first night on call where a guy came after crashing his motorcycle and the ER resident couldn't intubate the patient so my senior resident did an emergency surgical airway in the ER bay! That was a crazy moment.

SENIOR RESIDENT (reaching his hand back): Give me the trach hook!
ME (internal): What the hell is a trach hook? Well, this thing looks like it might be a trach hook. (Hands the tool to Senior Resident)

I guess I picked the right hook because he didn't say anything else after that. We got the airway secured and the trauma work-up continued. I haven't gotten to do that much in the way of procedures or OR time yet. The floor is keeping me busy but I've been told that I can get in on putting in chest tubes or central lines - we'll see as I have two or three call nights left in the month.

My second night on call was ON MY BIRTHDAY. Talk about a terrible birthday present from my program. Oh well. My wife came to the hospital at around 11 PM and brought me cupcakes. I can't say how much that made my night. The call night itself was pretty uneventful - if it hadn't been for checking up on a 5 year old kid's urine output after a nephrectomy I could have gotten around 6 hours of sleep - instead I slept for 2.5 years.

Anyway, vacation has been nice - to catch up on sleep and catch up on my life outside the hospital. Right now I'm in another city (a college town) while my wife interviews for a pediatric residency. Since I'll be at my current surgery training program for another 4 years she's planning to list only the programs in our hometown, but her advisor told her to interview at some other programs as an insurance policy in case something goes terribly wrong with the match. I'm about to walk over to the coffee shop and grab a late breakfast - vacation is awesome!

Last call night: Saturday December 2nd and Friday December 8th.
Amount of sleep: 1 hour and 2.5 hours (in spurts.)
Currently reading: Harper's Magazine.
Currently watching: Jackie Brown. Catching up on some Netflix as well.
Currently listenintg to: Fountains of Wayne.
Next call night: Monday December 18th after vacation.