ER

I’m back (today’s my half-birthday! :O )!

There are still a couple posts scheduled into the future, but I’ll actually be posting in [almost] real-time again (no way!). It’s really cold and dark here, which is a very stark and unwelcome contrast from the 70-to-90-and-sunny weather I was enjoying down south, but I suppose all good things must come to an end. Maybe the cold will help to jolt me back to reality a little faster.

I have a world of stuff to catch up on, so I’ve been trying to tackle it all one step at a time (slowly, but surely!). I’m done unpacking, semi-cleaning my apartment, catching up on emails, bills, school stuff, and the like. I even went to a Zumba class yesterday evening!

We were greeted with this outside the hospital gym.

Why yes, come right to me, Ebola! ._.

My first ER shift is today (starting in 1.5 hours, as a matter of fact).  I’m a little scared because I don’t know what to expect, have no idea which of the 4 ER physicians I’m following, and barely know where exactly to show up because the directions were fairly vague and/or nonexistent. I sincerely hope that my preceptors don’t find me utterly incompetent. I have a tendency to talk myself out of the right answer. Oh, self-doubt, how you plague me.

I also don’t really know what my eating situation is going to be like. (If you’ve been with me here a while, you’ll know that I plan my life around my meals. >_> ) I suspect I won’t have much time for actual meals, so I plan to stuff my pockets with all sorts of goodies. Jerky, granola, nuts, protein bars, sandwiches and bananas are probably going to fuel me through my 12-hour shifts.

Welcome to 3/4 of my granola collection. Yes, I’m a hoarder. :x

I figure the best approach is to just do my best. I’ve always found Emergency Medicine to be interesting, but I don’t think it’s something I’d want to do for the rest of my life. Still, I’m excited to see what it’s like and to get to do procedures and such! (And hooray for getting to wear scrubs instead of dressing up every day!)

Here’s to hoping that I get to learn and do a lot!