I'm on this Sunday, so I tracked down the attending, just to check what time he would be coming in. The typical thing on weekend shifts is you come in around 8 or 8:30, leisurely round on the patients, and are home by lunchtime.
"Hey, I'm on with you this Sunday. Just wanted to check the plan."
"Great. I get in around 4, so if you could pre-round before then, we can quickly go through the patients, and be out of there in a few hours."
"4 in the afternoon?"
"Ha, no."
"Oh. With other attendings, it's been more like 8 or 9."
"Yeah, I like to have most of my day free. I guess we can say 4:30, if you really want to sleep in."
"You must be a morning person."
"People tell me that, yeah. I don't really sleep."
"Okay. It's not daylight savings time this weekend, or anything like that, is it?"
"I don't think so."
"Okay. So... 4:30...?"
"Yeah, and if you could pre-round by then, that would be great. See you on Sunday!"
Friday, June 21, 2013
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That's just not right....
ReplyDeleteUmmmm, does he like to round before the patients wake up or something??
ReplyDeleteAbigail
Definitely before the patient's are awake. That's really not helpful to the nurses either...
ReplyDeleteWho can sleep in a hospital anyway? As a patient in the hospital for a few weeks, I was always awake when my intern pre-rounded at 4:15 or 4:30 am. It was the nicest spot in the day.
ReplyDeleteBut I am an early bird myself. I thought of you today with sympathy as you pre-rounded before dawn.
I'd say "Let's bargain up to 6, and I'll see you at 6:30." He can report me if he wants. We can have a nice chat about how there's no point on rounding on sleeping patients together with the program director.
ReplyDeleteAeris - agreed. I mean, aren't there signs all over the hospital claiming that quiet and rest are the best for a patient's recovery?
ReplyDeletebut... breakfast...
ReplyDeleteBreakfast on Sundays can be as late as 9 or 10... and it's usually cold and sucky...
please... don't round on peds patients on Sundays before 8...
the caf is closed until noon, and the coffee shop will have run out of baked goods...
so when you wake up that toddler patient at 5 am he will stay awake... and scream at his poor, sleep-deprived mom for hours and hours, because he has nothing to eat...
FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S HOLY, DON'T ROUND MORE THAN AN HOUR BEFORE BREAKFAST ON A WEEKEND WITHOUT AN OFFERING OF FOOD.
that is all
*sob* I never sleep...
At our hospital, if the resident approaches a Peds room, the kid's nurse will usually snarl something like "HE JUST FELL ASLEEP. IT'S FIVE AM. YOU WAKE HIM, YOU STAY THERE UNTIL HE FALLS BACK ASLEEP."
DeleteRegardless of the kid's age.
So don't worry, at our hospital, kids are protected. And if you find a kid with a dirty diaper, you change it. In all honesty, that's perfectly fair and reasonable. And really, if I'm worried about kid, and I find him sound asleep, I'm not worried anymore and have no business waking him.
um, your labs aren't even drawn at that point?
ReplyDeleteI will add a plug for don't disturb the patients. Not exactly your area, but I had my OB round on me at 5 or 6 the morning after I delivered my baby following a 30+ hour labor (yes, active, real labor). It has been two years and I hold a strong resentment to this day. I ended up with a pretty messed up sleep disorder (more due to the baby) and somehow in my head (I realize this is entirely irrational) I blamed it on that OB!
ReplyDeleteSounds like that internist should have gone into surgery. My attending likes rounding on patients while they're sleeping and he gets it done quickly...has his whole day in front of him for sure. Rounding starts around 5:30am and is over by 8am.
ReplyDelete