Scrubs

I remember a time back in high school when one of my close friends was admitted to the hospital for a surgical procedure. Before she was discharged, she asked if she could have a pair of scrubs. Her doctors graciously obliged. We weren't exactly the coolest kids in high school, but when she came back to school wearing those scrubs it made her all kinds of special. At that point, the only logical equation I could come up with was (dorky chick + scrubs) = new found coolness.

Bearing this in mind, I could not wait to get my hands on some scrubs when I started medical school. In those first few months, I proudly wore my scrubs as I lounged around studying my 500+ page syllabus in the local Starbucks. How could that not be cool? Then, scrubs became our official uniform for Gross Anatomy lab and the deconstruction of their coolness began. Not to get too graphic, but walking out of lab with bits of human flesh reeking of formaldehyde stuck to my pants was just not quite as awesome anymore.

Flash forward 3 years to the start of intern year and scrubs took on an even more ominous connotation. During residency scrubs mean night float, ICU rotations, and 24+ hour calls - all things that I enjoy about as much as seeing Jenny McCarthy poison the public with her insane ficticious theories about vaccines and autism. Simply put, my new equation is (overtired dorky girl + scrubs) = overtired dorky girl in crappy clothes.

As always happens at the end of a scrub month, I've come to LOATHE them even more. In case your only knowledge of scrubs is from the TV show Scrubs, you need to know the truth about "real" doctors' scrubs. They are not cute and perfectly form fitting. They do not come in a variety of fun and flashy colors. In fact, they are super unflattering squarish shaped pieces of clothing made from scratchy, stiff fabric. The current AMC color is a pale teal that is see-thru in the right natural lighting. As they are "unisex" (i.e. made for men) even the small size has an inseam that would extend halfway down my thigh if I didn't roll the top. Of course, by rolling the top they become too short and every time I sit my freakishly pale sun-deprived ankles are exposed.

Isn't it funny how an atricle of clothing that once captivated me with its apparent coolness inspires nothing but cold hatred and dread due only to the passage of time and a little bit of life experience?

Night Owl

I'm now a woman of the night. No, not in that way. Rather, my whole life has been turned upside-down (yet again) by my final month of night call. According to the standards of my pediatrics residency, all of us spend 4 months on night call. Night call consists of Sunday - Thursday overnight shifts from 7pm - 8am and every other Sunday 24hr call from 7am - 8am. 2 months are spent on the general pediatrics floor and 2 months are spent in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). I survived my two months on the peds floor trouble-shooting and dealing with the all night barrage of admissions from the ER and transferring hospitals. I've now survived a month and a half attending deliveries and taking care of some of the littlest babies you can imagine all night long in the NICU. The main reason this is SO HARD is that the hours I have to log make getting an adequate amount of sleep an impossibility. My "day" looks like this:

• 7pm - 8am: NICU (manage babies, attend deliveries, study for boards)


• 8 - 8:30: drive home


• 8:30 - 9:30/10: Tidy up at home, laundry with delay timer when necessary, prep dinner, re-pack my overnight bag for the next day, shower, dry hair, read a few pages of my peds textbook as board prep


• 10 - 3pm: Disjointed sleep (frequent awakenings to pee from all the coffee I drink overnight, phone messages, doorbell ringing from packages being delivered, birds chirping, cats battling on my bed, etc)


• 3 - 3:30: Get dressed and eat something


• 3:30/4 - 5:30: Bug time! (park, painting, reading, playing house, etc)


• 5:30 - 6:15: Dinnertime (and the only time I see my husband)


• 6:15 - 6:25: Put on my scrubs and scramble around the house assembling all I need to get through the night


• 6:25 - 7pm: Drive back to the NICU to repeat!

Not to toot my own horn, but I'm one Sunday 24hr and 10 nights away from completing all of my night requirements. This Sunday will be my LAST full 24hr call of residency. I know, WOW!

And as an FYI - just because I haven't been blogging and have been stuck in the NICU all night doesn't mean I've given up on my creativity! On slow nights, I've been known to turn the NICU resident room into a full on craft central with paper punches, glue sticks, calligraphy pens, and scrap booking papers galore in preparation for bug's kid party in June. I've also squeeeeezed in the time to bake cake pops for bug's teacher appreciation potluck at daycare (pics soon!) and some delicious blondies for my colleagues in the NICU. Current project is menu planning and constructing paper globes for table decorations for bug's party!

Just Fell Short

I knew yesterday morning that I was 4 posts away from making my 30 post in 30 days goal. I considered the ways I could stretch my thoughts and "make it". When I really think about it, the number of posts wasn't what I needed to be successful in this endeavor. I just like sharing my recipes, crafts, and ideas with anyone who cares to read and tend to not make the time for myself to do it. 30 posts in 30 days was more about making the time for myself to reflect and put my ideas out there. In that way, I did succeed.

So, I may not be blogging every day this coming month, but I think I'll be around a bit more regularly.