Sunday, February 18, 2018

Nonsensical Catch Up

Another week down. This is the end of the 6th week of classes. I have three more weeks of classes and this rotation, then I shift into a second five-week rotation (the psych one). But in that three weeks, I have to fit in three more patient write-ups, a day-long pediatric sims with a huge write-up, four exams (with two possible re-takes), a presentation, and several other online assignments. So there's that.

As I write this, I've just sent in one assignment (due tonight) and I am working on two others that are due by Sunday. So much for my weekend.

And I'm already tired.

I have been using melatonin to sleep, which feels (to this old insomniac at least) like cheating. I don't sleep very well on it (and it gives me insane dreams) but at least I sleep. I am having trouble with 4:30 or 4:45 a.m. wake-up time--and sometimes when I get up between 1:30 and 3:30 a.m., instead of trying to go back to sleep I just stay up.

This is the time in the semester when I often start trying to shock myself into wakefulness with cold showers and running the air conditioner in the car on the way to the hospital--but recently it's been cold enough that I'm reluctant to do that. And since I'm off the caffeine since it makes the anxiety/stress/heart stuff worse, I have little to jolt myself into action in the morning.

Today I was asked to take care of two patients. It doesn't seem like a lot--and eventually it won't be--but it was today. It takes time and effort to build up the time management skills to take care of multiple patients at once. I'm tired. And of course, since I am much taller than most of my co-workers, I end up leaning over beds to accommodate their heights (instead of raising beds to accommodate my height) and so my back is not happy with me right now.

This past week, I had two days of lecture. One lecture was from someone who specializes in examinations of patients who have been raped or sexually abused. We talked about recent rape cases, heard about strangulation as a common form of abuse, and looked at pictures torn anuses and vaginas and of a woman who had been burned to death by her ex-boyfriend. That was on Valentine's Day. (Happy Valentine's Day.)

Sunday night:

Well, the weekend is gone. Where? Today I finished my homework and we got a bit of time in at the studio--like, an hour or so. Mostly we went so that we could visit with Paul and Judi and see Crunch. He's not in amazing shape these days and Judi is afraid that he'll soon have to be put down, which is going to be awful for both her and Paul as he's one of the best sheepdogs they've ever had. And where does the time go? I mean, I still remember his puppy days when he chewed his way through a host of my things when I puppy sat him and refused (despite Judi's direction) to ever crate him.

Anyway, so that was my Sunday. Sleeping in. Homework. Studio. More homework.

Dinner was pita and hummus and salad and roast chicken from Whole Foods.


No comments: