Hello Residency...Goodbye Life!

I don't officially start until July 1, but orientation began last week!  All in all, the hours have not been bad, and are kind of a good adjustment from the prolonged vacation I've had and the hours I am about to begin working.  Last week was house staff orientation (all of the residents at UAMS and Children's Hospital) filled with lots of 15 minute general topics from sexual harassment to things to know before your call etc... We got our badges, parking passes, lab coats, filled out paper work, and munched on free food.  This week was department specific orientation.  It started with graduation dinner on Monday for the 4th year residents who are now going out into the real real world.

 Tuesday we rounded* with the current interns on postpartum (delivery) patients, and had computer training (not too long of day, except for the getting there at 5am part, that was a little rough to say the least!)  Today was simulation lab going over vaginal deliveries (with complications like shoulder dystocia and breech), c/s intrusments, laceration repairs and general suturing, and ultra sounding practice.  We picked up our monogrammed long coats (cause students were short ones, and doctors wear long ones), grabbed lunch and returned for fetal heart tracing instruction.

Tomorrow is shadow rounding again, then neonatal resuscitation course.  Friday is shadow rounding, then a topics "discussion" with one of the big dogs, more shadowing, more computer training.
Oh, and we worked on call** and holiday scheduled.  When's my first day of call - July 1!  I am beyond nervous...  And I work July 4th... oh and that following Sat night.  Yep, goodbye life, hello residency!

*Rounding = arriving early in the morning, looking at all the patients on your in patient service (so all the women who delivered and are still in the hospital while on the obstetrics service), checking vitals, labs, overnight happenings, talking to/examining these patients, writing any orders necessary or altering medications, completing discharge summaries and prescriptions if being discharged that day, and writing their daily medical note.  You then go over these patients with the attending (doctor post residency, employed by the university, the supervisor) physician.

**Call = varies depending on service you are on and year resident you are.  For now, it means working the L&D floor for ~12 hr shift.  If you are the day shift, this includes rounding on postpartum patients prior to working the L&D floor.  This also means any issues with postpartum patients will be paged to you.  New regulations prohibit interns from working 24 hr shifts.