I've progressed to a new department, with a new title, with more responsibility and more stress. What irks me the most is the working hours.
Let's start systematically.
1. I rather start early (since I am awake by 5ish 6am anyway) and finish early. This whole 9am-9.30pm crap is just so annoying. Worse is when your colleague doesn't appear at 9pm for the handover and I end up leaving work almost 10pm
2. The department is so disorganised! Let me break it down- There's 2 places that I need to cover. A is for pts who are more unwell and sick whereas B is for more stable pts but with a problem that needs to be addressed.
So B is super super disorganised because there's just too many pts to care for and there is lack of staff and support from seniors. I am expected to lead the ward round for half of the ward and there's always pressure for beds for new admissions so I ended up choosing pts to be decanted (transfer to another ward so that the new admission have beds) or discharged. When the pts ask difficult questions, I feel so stupid and guilty for the inability to answer them correctly, I could only guess and reassure them. When there's decanted pts, I'll need to keep track of them and walk around the whole hosp to see them and to have a plan for them.
A is a place where pts are properly sick. I'll be holding the crash bleep too so when the bleep starts talking and telling me which ward to go to, I'll need to carry the mega huge bag filled with drugs and defib to the ward and go through ABC +/- shock them. Part of the job includes reviewing ECGs sent in by the paramedics or GPs to be reviewed and direct them to appropriate place, be it B or A&E or AMIA etc.
I have been working in A this past week and it's been alright because the nurses who has been there forever has been guiding me and giving me tips. Seniors are just a phone call away too. But today the nurses were different and not that nice, started giving me hard time and ranting to me for the inappropriate referrals that the reg accepted. What do you want me to do, he's the reg and he's been pressurised too by that other department consultant who has way more experience than any of us and insisted that her pt have to come to our ward instead. Oh well... my colleague who has been working in B for the past week has been so stressed and she told me she's been crying when she got home =/
3. I really hate joining the ward round in the middle of it. The reg and consultant starts the ward round before 9am and they do not expect me to come early so I'll need to check what they wrote in the notes to catch up with the jobs. Hate the working hours, refer to 1.
4. After 5pm on a weekend and nights, I need to cover another ward which has tonnes of sick pts too. The sheer thought of it is just so scary since I don't know any of them and they're circumstances such as if they are fluid restricted or for transplant etc.
5. I have no time to study for my coming exam. Coming home at 10 ish pm feeling angry and tired is not ideal. Refer to 1 again!
But on a brighter note, I get my jobs done and it's so easy to get people to review my pts (maybe because pts are sick). And it's the weekend!!! It's the first of my 2 weekends where I am not working =)
Oh, and my new housemate is alright too =)
Well there goes my first rant, there will be more since I am starting on B next week. I will cross that bridge when I get there, in the meantime, I should sleep soon but I have to study too..hmm...should get my priorities right...SLEEP indeed =P
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