Ok, since everyone likes to ask if my life is like Grey's Anatomy-
The answer is yes and no.
"No" to the parts about- sleeping with attendings/patients. Sex in storerooms (I WISH!). Underwear on the bulletin board.
"yes" to dealing with egos, crazy patients/co-workers, drama, and shitty hours.

But the best part ever was when they were talking about izzie being all fucked up and lying on the floor in her dress, and they tried to explain that after being in school for so long and never really getting to have a life- it's like she's still (socially) 17.

So fucking true.

And that is my excuse from now on.

I'm still 17.

---

The funny thing is- the character on the show that is the closest to my actual job is Bailey.

Which just cracks me up.

That is who I am supposed to be.

The mean bitchy "nazi" chief, barking orders and yelling at people.

I should take lessons from her.

Instead I am meek and mild and let my interns walk all over me.

For example- last night I was on call. My intern was this girl... I think she's older than me. She's going into anesthesia, and doesn't really care about surgery. But there are two patients on my team having surgery today. So yesterday I asked her to make sure that they are ready.
That involves:
nothing to eat after midnight
IV fluids after midnight
Make sure the consent is signed
make sure the pre-op labs are normal
check a chest xray
check the ekg
Then write a note in the chart summarizing all of the above.

This is standard intern fare. Saying "make sure those patients are pre-opped" should be adequate.

But she... how do I put this... isn't always the most reliable. So I paged her to make sure everything was under control. At like 5pm. She said "yup, it's all set. Just waiting on the chest xrays and ekgs, and I'll check labs in the morning."

Umm, ok, not sure what's actually done then.

I said "let's check the labs tonight, in case anything is abnormal and we need to work on it."
"ohhh. ok."

But it was early, she had plenty of time.

The rest of the night was pretty quiet.

I checked the labs myself.

This morning on rounds checked the charts.
No comments about the chest xrays.
So I asked her-
"how were those chest xrays?"
And she said 'oh... I didn't get a chance to look at them."

Didn't get a chance?
what the fuck were you doing all night?

• I* was busy in the ER seeing patients, but I just took care of that myself and with the junior resident, didn't bother her- figured we could handle it ourselves and she probably had enough work of her own to do. (for the record, that was nice of me. I could have just said "I don't CARE if you're busy. I am the chief. Go see these patients in the ER, write them up, come up with a plan, and then call me." But no. I tried to be nice.

So when she told me that she "didn't have a chance" to see the xrays, after I specifically shielded her from the ER all night, I could/should have said "why not? that's unacceptable. When I ask you to do these things, I need to know they'll get done. I have to be able to depend on you."

(a chief told me that and made my cry my first month of internship after a patient forget to take his meds and it was somehow my fault because I didn't call him at home the night before surgery to remind him (a grown man) to take the medication like we'd talked about in clinic, and written down on paper)

Instead I just said "oh... ok...." and walked away, fuming.

WTF.

Because the thing is- it's ultimately MY responsibility, and MY ass on the line if these things don't get done.

I think I will have a new motto:
WWBD.
What would bailey do?

I need to start cracking the whip!!

oops.
sorry for the rant.
again.

time for a nap so I am nice and un-cranky for y'all tomorrow!