For some, a "Good Call" is a shift at the hospital where nothing happens and you get to sleep for a few hours (Call = Being 'On Call' - i.e. you are the go-to physician when a patient needs something). At this point in my life, I don't feel this way about what a good call is. I hate leaving the hospital in the morning feeling tired, but not being any wiser than I was at the beginning of my 12-hour shift. To me all it means is that I had the privilege of staying 12 more hours away from my family; not a good thing. If things are slow, can I blame anyone for my otherwise lack of learning? The technical answer is no. After all, I could be studying. However, I recognize that my mind is used to sleeping from 10 p.m. to 4:30 a.m., and as such, self-study is very difficult at 1 a.m. (i.e. I fall asleep). However, if there are active problems on the floor, my mind is able to engage and the learning ensues.
Tonight, a certain attending who is an Internist, Allergist, Critical Care Specialist by training (who is also about to run for congress for a district in Maryland and is now accepting campaign donations of any amount >$1, money well spent if you want a smart and funny representative) spent some downtime talking me through some core physiology concepts in medicine. The above diagram was 1/3 the way through our discussion of preload and afterload as it pertains to cardiac function and pharmacological intervention. Now I recognize that while only some of you (a select few) are thinking, "That sounds interesting," the great majority are thinking, "Fred's a Nerd. A conversation like that would put me to sleep not wake me up." However, for me, it made my call a good one.
Why do I share this? Perhaps because I think that learning is a privilege. Most of us feel inconvenienced when we are challenged or when we are asked to grow. In other words, we want to sleep when we are "On Call." However, in the grand scheme of things, when we sleep through our days (or nights... figuratively speaking) we miss the opportunities to prepare for our future when things will count. Instead of feeling burdened, we should feel like we did some good.
In an attempt to keep this post short, I will conclude this thought with my wish that all of you have the very best 'Call.' As for me, I am going to go sleep ;)
Tonight, a certain attending who is an Internist, Allergist, Critical Care Specialist by training (who is also about to run for congress for a district in Maryland and is now accepting campaign donations of any amount >$1, money well spent if you want a smart and funny representative) spent some downtime talking me through some core physiology concepts in medicine. The above diagram was 1/3 the way through our discussion of preload and afterload as it pertains to cardiac function and pharmacological intervention. Now I recognize that while only some of you (a select few) are thinking, "That sounds interesting," the great majority are thinking, "Fred's a Nerd. A conversation like that would put me to sleep not wake me up." However, for me, it made my call a good one.
Why do I share this? Perhaps because I think that learning is a privilege. Most of us feel inconvenienced when we are challenged or when we are asked to grow. In other words, we want to sleep when we are "On Call." However, in the grand scheme of things, when we sleep through our days (or nights... figuratively speaking) we miss the opportunities to prepare for our future when things will count. Instead of feeling burdened, we should feel like we did some good.
In an attempt to keep this post short, I will conclude this thought with my wish that all of you have the very best 'Call.' As for me, I am going to go sleep ;)
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