Friday, April 29, 2005

How Tired Do You Get?

I just worked two back to back eighteen hour days. In between I got five hours sleep.

I got another five hours sleep and went to a meeting on another project this morning. I am so tired I could go to bed for the weekend.  Now, here's the point of all this.

There are medical interns who work 36 and 48 hours straight.  No sleep except for catnaps here and there if they're lucky.

In my case no lives were endangered because I was getting punchy from inventing new foods for your family pets.  But tired doctors begin to suffer from a disease called the "FUKITS."  

They get so tired they just don't give a F**K.  And what they don't give a F**K about is your life, basically.  Not that they wouldn't care under ordinary circumstances, say with some sleep, but when hallucinations are beginning to close in, bad things can happen to sick people.

Which brings me to something you need to mark on your calendar:  DO NOT BE HOSPITALIZED FOR ANY REASON ON JULY 1st.  

That's the day when last year's interns, who have learned enough to finally be useful, turn everything over to this year's interns who don't know a fever from a hot flash.

In fact, while you're at it, avoid going to the hospital for the whole month of July.  Let the interns break in their stethoscopes before you call the ambulance.

And don't say i didn't give you fair warning.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

well , that's all peachy keen , but there is NO way to control medical issues, much less emergancies! So the point seems silly to me  
Julie~
http://journals.aol.com/joolsinwa/randommusingsofmymind

Anonymous said...

Julie -- Were you absent the day the class discussed IRONY?  Or are you just blond?  Mrs. L

Anonymous said...

not blond...lol

Anonymous said...

WHAT??? You were inventing dog food while exhausted?  GASP! The humanity!

Although, now that I think about it, my dogs seem to favor squishy, smelly  dead things found rotting in the woods, so whatever you came up with is probably more marketable than that...  Although, if dogs could read ...  :-)

Anonymous said...

always somethign to learn by coming here :-)

~  www.jerseygirljournal.com

Anonymous said...

I'm employing a version of open ended logic at my newly named blog. Volume of sleep has a lot to do with it's version 1.0. I have glandular tales to tell. I may be in Chicago come soon. If so, would a Cub game be within reality?

Anonymous said...

There is a reason they call them "residents."
xoxo

Anonymous said...

Toss in a loaded gun and a car that goes 100 mph and you pretty much have my average week. But I'm a people person.

Anonymous said...

I used to coordinate a residency program, and that's very true, but keep in mind there are 2nd, 3rd and4th years there (and hopefully an attending or two) to keep the babies in line.  Fear not.

=) kris
http://journals.aol.com/kristeenaelise/thedailypurge

Anonymous said...

amen to that one........ they already are operating at a disadvantage, so deprive them of sleep too??? No thanks. judi