I was on duty as the adult physician for 48 hours starting May 20, 2013.
Each duty contains 24 hours, with two resident adult physicians minding the
ward and emergency room and the morning dialysis center. However, my partner
for my first 24 hours of duty cancelled for personal reasons.
Upon endorsement of the in-patients from the outgoing residents, I
thought that everything will be easy breezy. But I was just so mistaken. Being
alone for the whole 24 hours of duty, every call was directed to me. I had to
answer to different referrals of in-patients problems while juggling the buzz
of the ER and dialysis center. Aside from this, since all patients are private,
I have to refer to each patient’s attending physician via SMS or phone call to
update on laboratory or procedure results as well as current status or
complaints.
I have a very bad habit of ignoring breakfast. Upon waking up every
single day, rarely do I have the urge of hunger. I usually take a mug of coffee before I hit
the road. This is also the same reason I
have gastric pains intermittently.
During my first 24 hours of duty, I did my no-breakfast routine since I
didn’t expect to be busy. Lo and behold,
it’s already 2:00 in the afternoon when I noticed my stomach grumbling in
complaint of need for food. How come I haven’t had lunch on time? Well, time
flies when someone’s busy as a bee. But when I got to the call room to eat, I
have just taken a few mouthfuls when the phone started ringing. Again. Multiple
times. Multiple calls. Lucky me.
The day went on and I can liken my situation to a work ant. Focused only
on work. Work. Work. Cliché, though, it is rewarding to lend a hand and take
care of patients and attend to their needs. Spiritual or not, I believe
goodness and karma travels back fast.
Ever ready and moving, I found that there are actually some perks travelling
from my call room to the ward. I got to exercise my legs and breathe out
heavily to ward off bad vibes. But I got to do this hundreds of times, I guess,
that I got to the point that I am just dog-tired. Then my personal phone
started ringing. It was my friend Jo. I must have forgotten that he’s supposed
to meet me at the ER in the afternoon. Tee hee, the afternoon meet-up turned to
evening, and I barely noticed the difference. He did call me beforehand asking
if I like J.Co donuts and if I have any preference. I told him, just give me
some milk tea and I can survive the rest of the day. I was so surprised when he
came in and had a box of 6 pieces of sumptuous J.Co donuts! I almost wanted to
cry out of happiness that I could bite into such delicious goodness without
enduring the long lines of the much sought-after donuts. I even I asked him
where did he buy it and how was he able to get hold of these precious donuts
without breaking a sweat. So he told me that he had to wait in line, standing
outside the shop, just to get them for me. To bribe me! He wanted to meet up
for this medical thing he needs to accomplish. And what a bribe I got. I
thought he forgot about the milk tea, and then he told me that he just opted to
give me Gongcha milk tea, which is now a bit warm ‘cause of the travel time to
the hospital. Ah! Heaven! I must be dreaming. I have been so busy that I didn’t
even think I deserve a minute to eat and now I found my oasis.
Thanks to you Jo, I had a glimpse of happiness amidst the sorrow of lone
duty during my first 24 hours. But then again, as a down side… I only got to
taste my goodies at around 11:00 in the evening. Perks or no perks, I think I have
one of the best jobs in the world --- with the one of bestest friends to go
with it, “user-friendly” or not.
J.Co Donuts: Top - Alcapone; Middle: Hi Lychee; Bottom: Avocado DiCaprio (my ultimate favorite!) with my GongCha milk tea |
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