Back to the frontlines...

Crap. Just when I thought things were coming to an end. End of residency, start of fellowship; no more working like a dog, staying in the crummy St. Marys call-rooms, or running to the next code blue hoping that it's a false alarm.

Yup, I'm back. Have been pulle for the very last week of residency, to cover for a friend who left for Virginia to begin his cardiology fellowship. And, pulled to cover the medical ICU (where I was, 3 months ago), no less.

Oh well. At least now the unit is relatively empty; last I checked, of the 24 beds in the MICU, less than half were taken. So, fewer sick people to look after I suppose. But that could be potentially bad too. That means that I have a lot of empty beds and the folks in the ER, on the general floors or even the airlift helicopters will be pushing patients my way.

Tahan, tahan. Only one more week. One more week before I forever flush that code pager out of my life and into the toilet. One more week before I am forever done with overnight call (ok, not sure what awaits me in Malaysia should I decide to return, but we'll worry about that when we get there).

Wrote this when I was on cardiology. Thought it would be fitting to put it up again.

Ode to my Pager
Oh Code Blue, you hateful Code Blue

I dread the days when I hear from you.

Up the stairs, and down the halls I race,

To find the patient, who's trying to leave for a better place.

I shout to the nurses, "I'm here, I'm the code team leader!"

(But actually, there isn't anyone in the room stupider).

Check his airway, breathing and circulation

Then shock, shock, shock for ventricular fibrillation.

Epinephrine 1mg q 3 minutes

And other crazy chemicals in the code kits

Should I try lidocaine, or should i do amiodarone?

Quick, quick, decide, before the patient's gone.

Do we have pulses, or is he in PEA?

Oh, crap, what's making him this way?

Stat blood gases, and check his electrolytes.

Is this an MI, PE or some other plight?

Thoughts of you, give me sleepless nights,

Coz I don't know, when my pager might bite.

I might be showering when the patient decides to die,

Or will you code, when I go to pang-sai?

So here I am, awake on my callroom bed,

Need to poop, but I think i'll hold it in instead.