By AverageAvarice - 07/07/2016 20:09 - United States

Today, after 22 hours running around the hospital, I found some time to sit still and have a sandwich. My attending physician walked by and commented that I must not have enough work to do. The same person who 12 hours ago said finding time to eat was a skill, since I was eating on the go. FML
I agree, your life sucks 11 665
You deserved it 649

AverageAvarice tells us more.

Hey this is OP, I know a lot of people are not familiar with the hours residents must work. I work an 80 hour week. 12-24 hour shifts 4-5 days a week. I must take a break every 16 hours but it's usually every 12. I have a locker with blankets, clothes etc. I sleep in the doctor's lounge and shower in the locker room. I'm on 24 hour call for the ER this month and since anything can happen at anytime I'm constantly being called for something while on break (when ever I'm eating). It's really not bad once you get used to it, I can sometimes squeeze in a couple hours of sleep at the end of a twelve hour period, do some studying then clock back in. Adrenaline wakes me up in serious situations. My attending physician is a nice person but really brutal with their assigned work-load. I must work long hours so I can observe the full conditions of the patients assigned to me.

Top comments

Jachin357 28

You ignore him and sit right down and enjoy your sandwich because you deserve it. Don't let this person guilt you for taking a small break!

You need food to survive shifts that long! Don't be bothered by his/her comment and keep eating your sandwich!

Comments

can I have a tour of the hospital ? I'm interested in medical LOL

Hey this is OP, I know a lot of people are not familiar with the hours residents must work. I work an 80 hour week. 12-24 hour shifts 4-5 days a week. I must take a break every 16 hours but it's usually every 12. I have a locker with blankets, clothes etc. I sleep in the doctor's lounge and shower in the locker room. I'm on 24 hour call for the ER this month and since anything can happen at anytime I'm constantly being called for something while on break (when ever I'm eating). It's really not bad once you get used to it, I can sometimes squeeze in a couple hours of sleep at the end of a twelve hour period, do some studying then clock back in. Adrenaline wakes me up in serious situations. My attending physician is a nice person but really brutal with their assigned work-load. I must work long hours so I can observe the full conditions of the patients assigned to me.

I can't imagine how stressful that is, all I can really do or say is good job, good luck, and keep it up, you sound like a hard worker and that's a good trait to have :). Have a great day OP!

doglady 16

Dude, what's your specialty? I remember being on trauma surg ICU as an off service resident and doing 110 hour weeks, on call q other. I learned to eat like a starved wolf. That was seriously f***ed up, I fell asleep at stoplights on the way home.

Well even though it was hard, I think everybody thanks u for helping out ur fellow people in need of medical attention as quickly as possible. Same with op!

This post reminds me of Grey's Anatomy. The show isn't as accurate as real life hospital are, but when it comes to how much interns work, they hit the nail on the head.