A day in the life of my Internal Med rotation

Just as a reminder, for my final year of Pharmacy school, P4 year, we are required to complete 9 rotations in different health care settings. I have already completed Geriatrics and Ambulatory Care. This month I started the dreaded two month long rotation of Internal Med. It is rumored to be the most challenging months of the entire year.

I am half way through the first month, and I am still kicking! It has been challenging, but it has not been as bad as it could be. My biggest obstacle will be figuring out a way to balance it all, time management, and the sleep deprivation.

Here a snapshot of one day from last week.

Thursday, July 15th

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5:00 AM WAKE UP (Anyone who knows me will understand this is not easy for me. It just isn't natural to get up that early in the morning! (and I am kinda GRUMPY )

5:45 AM Leave home for my one hour commute! It STINKS! Where did all these people come from, and WHY do they all work in Raleigh? On a positive note, I got to see the sun rise over the big city.

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6:45 AM  Meet for Pharmacy Grand Rounds; discuss the new statin that just came on the market. Coffee in hand.

8:00 AM  Meet with our boss. Discuss old patients. Get assigned new patients. Reminder about big presentation the following day. AS IF that has not haunted me all week.

8:30 AM - 12PM Start reviewing new patients. Look at labs, look at urine/blood cultures, Xrays, MRIs, CT scans, check their medication list, their doses, their renal function. Their vitals. Anything changed since yesterday. Are they on DVT prophylaxis? We don't want them throwing a clot while they are here! Make notes so that I can present them in an organized, informed fashion later in the afternoon.

12PM-12:45PM EAT, talk wth other students, share our pain, our stress, wonder how we will make it through the next 6 weeks. EAT!

1PM-2PM Meet with a very smart and intimidating Clinical Pharmacist and discuss the INs and OUTs of acute and chronic renal failure. Get hammered with questions. Start sweating. At the end he tells us we are the best group he's ever had the discussion with. SCORE!

2:30-4PM Meet with boss. Go over patients. Get hammered with questions...more sweating. Make notes to follow-up with the next morning.

4:15PM Leave for one hour commute home. What to do for supper? I am hungry again...gotta feed the brain.

5:30 HOME! Check email. Look at my must read blogs (I have a few people I stalk ;)  )

6:00PM My Dad shows up with my favorite take-out food, he heard I was gonna likely eat cereal for supper and he was worried about me. Thanks, Daddy! The food was yummy, it definitley saved my life.

6:30PM-2:30AM Sit in the same spot and work on a 14 page presentation for the following day on ANEMIA. I did a patient case, disease snapshot, and a journal article.

2:31AM Delirium sets in. My throat hurts. I am trying to remember what time I have to be there in the morning. Sleep....

3 hours later....I was up and at'em again. My presentation went well on Friday afternoon (thank the Lord!), and by the time I got home I was ready to crash. It was quite a week!

Tomorrow is my mid-point evaluation for the first month. I hope it goes well! At least I am 1/4 of the way there!

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Just keep swimming, just keep swimming....swimming, swimming....

Will write another post later about all the other "life" stuff going on....the kids, house still for sell, and this week was officially 11 months since Chris left for his new job. We are hanging in there. :)