Finally getting off of MICU night shifts after 4 weeks! That was quite an adventure. Multiple procedures, teaching 2nd year residents, learning new things myself, making mistakes, seeing some very interesting cases, splitting work, splitting hairs, even getting sick and recovering...
The first few weeks were rather difficult. We had some of the highest patient loads in the past few years - and I was the senior resident in charge! That's a heavy responsibility. The stress did affect me primarily outside of work hours, as I had to keep myself in control on the job.
Nevertheless, I liked the experience. I just wouldn't repeat it for 6 nights per week for a month lol! 5 per week is far more manageable.
The last few nights were actually pretty good. Labor Day Weekend meant less patients came in, and our list was cleared down from ~26 patients to a low of 14 at one point. I recall rare times when the MICU had less than 10 patients in total - those were relaxing times. We just don't see this happen now. But the last few nights did bring back the memories of a lighter load, which was pleasant.
At any rate, I'm happy that I managed to train my 2nd year coresidents to be more independent. The first pair with whom I worked were honestly not clinically as strong, and also not as detail-oriented or quick to act, although I did see some good moments. The second pair, in my humble view, would be ready to lead a team the moment they enter their third year. They genuinely made my work easier because they were simply so on top of their tasks.
I did not have quite as much silly fun as I anticipated, but this is a job after all. I'm still going to remember this time as a bit of a leader, and hope that I made a strong impact on the coresidents who will be the leaders of the MICU next year.
That was a pretty positive post. Glad I can still have some positive reflections during this rigorous training. I should write these out more often.
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