Eat, read and be happy

Much as I love my job, I also am really enjoying time off!

I finished my last shift in GI after what could possibly have been the worst week ever, but I survived to tell the sorry tale and am now spending a few (well-earned, I think) days off. Yesterday I stayed home and chilled out with The Boy, which was great. Then in the evening we went out for drinks with my SHO and registrar, which was very pleasant. There was no hierarchy-like feeling, and a good time was had by all.

Today my friend Elaine came down to visit for the day. We had lunch, talked about boys (and not about work), mooched around the shops, bought some jumpers and didn’t feel guilty about it because the money came out of our no-longer-in-the-red bank accounts, then we met up with The Boy and had dinner at one of my favourite wee restaurants. We are currently sitting in my living room watching Scotland play Italy in the pouring rain, but it’s okay because we have the fire on and we are warm and dry.

I’m a happy girl. I’ve got a few days off coming up, and I have big plans for them – I’m going to READ. Yes, ladies and germs, I’m going to read. I bought two Ben Elton books in the first week of work, and I haven’t even read the back covers yet. I love Ben Elton. So in my days off, I am going to SIT DOWN for more than 10 minutes and I am going to READ. Hurrah! Yay me.

Here are some other things I might do.

Days off are awesome.

Some thoughts and much rambling

Many apologies for the lack of posts of late, I suck at regular blogging! Sorry, sorry, etc.

Lots going on in life, much of it work, but some of it, um, extra-curricular! Am currently sitting on the sofa watching rugby (with one eye, apologies for typos) next to a pretty wonderful guy who has appeared on the scene…his name is Andy, he might feature here from time to time

Today we (yes, me and aforementioned lad, we’re ‘we’ now!) went to the church I grew up in, my ‘home’ church. Haven’t been for about 3 years because it’s not really home any more, at least it doesn’t feel like it and I go to a different church usually. It was nice, very different from last time I went.

It wasn’t a comfortable service. I know it sounds bad, but I sometimes like to go to church and then leave and not have to think too much, especially about things I should be doing differently. Challenge is not always welcome. I’m challenged enough at work, I feel like church should be a safe place with not too much thinking and definitely no feeling! Oh dear, I suck.

Anyway today’s service was really quite uncomfortable for me, I felt a bit weird about it all. I might write more about it once I have cultivated some more logical thoughts and when I have time to write things!

This week is my last on GI – I’m doing 4 long days then I have 5 days off, hurrah! Then I am going to the surgical admissions unit for some fun and games with people with abdominal pain. I really like GI, I’ll be sad to leave. I’m just getting the hang of it. But change happens and I’ll get over it. Might even get a holiday if I’m lucky!

I hope things are good in your life. Think lots.

Sickness and healthcare

Today I’m off sick. I feel horribly guilty about it, I know the others will have to work really hard to cover me but I feel rubbish. Basically I felt really sick yesterday despite some IM cyclizine (ouch! we do that to patients?!) and today feel a bit like I was run over by a bus! I’m really run down and now that I think about it I haven’t had a proper meal since sunday and yet I just don’t fancy anything. Must try and look after myself a bit better!

My parents are having a hard time getting their heads round my job. I’ve tried to prepare them for the fact that I’ll never be home on time and often don’t have time to eat, but I think they think I do it on purpose! I never truly believed the junior doctors when they said that I should drink and eat when I had the chance because you never know when it might happen again, but it’s true.

I went to teaching on tuesday and it was a lecture from a guy who wants to speed up waiting times for patients (very noble) by getting people discharged earlier in the day. One of his suggestions was getting us to write discharge scripts while on the consultant ward rounds. Yeah, right! Mostly we don’t have time to write in the notes, let alone write scripts, who is going to wait around for that?! It made me pretty angry really.

I’m not sure where I’m going with this post, my head’s not really all there at the moment and I have other things on my mind, but I really think that there is something fundamentally wrong with a system which does not allow junior doctors time to eat and in which completely unrealistic tasks are imposed on us.

Enough of medicine. I’m going onto nights tomorrow (bleugh) so better do something more fun. Like wander round Sainsburys and see if there’s anything I actually want to eat! Sorry for the crap post, I’ll try harder next time