Lisa Aukland, bodybuilder
I remember my first day as an intern. I started with a month in the ICU and had two patients per day that I was totally responsible for. My seniors rode me hard, because they got in trouble if I made a mistake. As a team, we lost 17 patients that month. I cried for the patients and, mostly, for myself. I was tired and felt inept.
Today, I had a fantastic, easily paced Saturday at the hospital. I did 4 H&Ps, 7 discharges and 9 followups, including two in the ICU, all while managing the call pager. And I was home in time for (late) dinner.
Experience makes us all grow as physicians. We know how to muck through the data to pick out the important parts, know how to budget our time, know how to interview expeditiously and do a thorough exam in limited time.
If you had told me on that first day of internship that I would have a day like this in 2008, I'd have called you a liar.
Time is a funny thing, isn't it?
I wish I could go back in time and tell myself it would all be OK, and I wonder what I freak out about now that will be easy in ten years. Maybe I don't want to know. I imagine the misery I felt ten years ago helped me get to where I'm comfortable today.
And my seniors in the ICU when I was an intern? They are now consulting pulmonologists at our hospital. We have a great relationship, and I thank them for riding me and training me to think like a doctor.
So, medical students and interns, take heart. One day, you'll be grateful for the pain you experience today. You, too, will be better...stronger...faster.
I remember my first day as an intern. I started with a month in the ICU and had two patients per day that I was totally responsible for. My seniors rode me hard, because they got in trouble if I made a mistake. As a team, we lost 17 patients that month. I cried for the patients and, mostly, for myself. I was tired and felt inept.
Today, I had a fantastic, easily paced Saturday at the hospital. I did 4 H&Ps, 7 discharges and 9 followups, including two in the ICU, all while managing the call pager. And I was home in time for (late) dinner.
Experience makes us all grow as physicians. We know how to muck through the data to pick out the important parts, know how to budget our time, know how to interview expeditiously and do a thorough exam in limited time.
If you had told me on that first day of internship that I would have a day like this in 2008, I'd have called you a liar.
Time is a funny thing, isn't it?
I wish I could go back in time and tell myself it would all be OK, and I wonder what I freak out about now that will be easy in ten years. Maybe I don't want to know. I imagine the misery I felt ten years ago helped me get to where I'm comfortable today.
And my seniors in the ICU when I was an intern? They are now consulting pulmonologists at our hospital. We have a great relationship, and I thank them for riding me and training me to think like a doctor.
So, medical students and interns, take heart. One day, you'll be grateful for the pain you experience today. You, too, will be better...stronger...faster.