The Most Frightening Countdown of My Life

The countdown has begun! It is difficult to believe that in about 54 hours I will be starting my first day of work as an intern on the Medical Intensive Care Unit. I have spent the last two weeks sitting in a cold conference room of a large county hospital, freezing to death indoors while outside the weather has been over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

What did I do and what all have I learned? Wow…there was so much thrown at us that I don’t know where to begin. Talk about information overload. Here is a quick run-down on what I did and learned during these last two weeks:

ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support): how to save a dying adult
PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support): how to save a dying kid
NRP (Newborn Resuscitation Provider): how to save a dying baby
How to treat our patients with respect
How to manage assaultive behavior (e.g. how to get out of a headlock or a simple arm hold; how to appropriately pin a combative patient to a wall, etc.)
What dental and medical insurance to sign up for
What vision insurance is available to me (I get a free vision exam and up to $85 for a frame)
How to wear our ID badges
What the dress code is at the hospital (e.g. the need to cover all my tattoos with long sleeves or dark nylons, to refrain from wearing any type of denim or jeans, etc.)
What rights I have as a member of the staff at my hospital (e.g. not to participate in the termination of pregnancy, not to participate in organ procurement, etc.)
Where to park (in “physician parking” – finally!)
How to report bloodborne pathogen exposures
How to handle organ donations
What features make our hospital seismically resistant (i.e. it is built to withstand an 8.3 magnitude earthquake!)
What ancillary services are offered at our hospital
HIPAA regulations
How to use the new program for doctors to order all medications online, a trial program which is scheduled to go live in October 2006
How to use the online PACS (radiology) system
How to look up labs and reports online
How to log all of our procedures and hours online (per ACGME requirements, we cannot work more than 80 hours per week, averaged over 4 weeks; and we are prohibited from being in the hospital more than 30 hours at a time)
What electives I can take (I plan to do ophthalmology, anesthesiology, radiology, rheumatology, and hopefully a mission elective at an eye clinic in Africa)
Received a walking tour through the hospital
Received a box full of business cards with my name on it
Received a personalized stamp with my name and "M.D" after it
Met my Program Director
Met with my senior resident
Met with an outgoing intern, who reviewed everything I need to know before I start MICU
Met all my fellow interns, who for the most part seem like good people

All and all, it has been quite an exhausting two weeks. Ready or not, I am prepared for take-off. Tomorrow I will receive my white coat (finally a LONG white coat!). Friday I will shadow the current (outgoing) interns on MICU. Then Saturday (6/24/06) is my first official day of work. Anyone who is reading this (if anyone does actually read these irrelevant, incoherent, uninteresting entries in their entirety)...please pray for me! =)