The Joys of Call...Not

I was blissfully spared call* this weekend and had huge ambitions to sleep in. However, what sleeping in now means apparently is 8am. I did manage to fit in a sizable nap yesterday, which partially compensates for the lack of real sleeping in (defined as waking up at or after 10am in my world).

I was on Friday-Sunday call for emergency consults last weekend, which is arguably as brutal as call gets (the only thing worse is being on Friday-Sunday-Tuesday call, meaning you really don't get a chance to recover before you have to be on call again). I managed to get an hour of sleep here and there on both nights but nothing that amounts to a good night of sleep.

It's funny because though I've not done a huge amount of call, I already have this whole routine. I wind up packing enough for a weekend trip which involves books pertaining to medicine, books not pertaining to medicine, clothes and food. Lots of food. I also almost always look at my bed longingly before I leave my place and think "Sadly, I won't sleep in you tonight". It's just a weird feeling knowing you won't be going back to your place that night. I usually start counting down the number of hours left around midnight. I think I usually feel worst at about 4am (provided I'm awake) when I just want to sleep and I curse people for coming in. However by 6am, I start to perk up in anticipation of getting to leave the hospital soon and then can feign some level of alertness...and honestly, going home post-call even when you're stinky and sleep deprived is the greatest thing ever.

*Call: when you're on duty at the hospital after your normal hours...usually this means overnight call and a good chance that you won't see a bed for about 24 hours but you usually get the following day off. Usually.