I’m finished with my very last in-house call as a CA-2 (PGY-3 resident), and it was a grueling one indeed! The calls on this pediatric anesthesia rotation have progressively become more demanding as everyone is out on summer break wanting to get their elective surgeries done early.
From my end, it translates to an incredible training opportunity. I’m forced to switch from elective spine cases with orthopedics to urology, ENT, and neurosurgery within the same day. Throw in an emergent general surgery case in the neonatal ICU, and I’m rounding out so many wonderful experiences from the last three months. 🙂
Truth be told, as draining as call shifts can be, I come home physically tired, mentally energized, and emotionally satisfied. There’s an indescribable feeling of reassuring parents/guardians that their children will be safe during surgery and seeing that to fruition. Plus kids of all ages are awesome! 😎
I have a “golden weekend” (both days off without call responsibilities) coming up and a clinical leave of absence on Monday to orient the incoming interns and first year anesthesia residents. I’ll be finishing the rotation with two non-in-house call shifts and then be starting my final year of residency! 😀
