Smug and proud of it.

At the risk of sounding extremely smug and self-satisfied, I have to tell you that I had a very productive Saturday morning this past weekend. Alas, I happened to be on-call, and there were several patients at different hospitals that needed to be seen, in addition to new consults and procedures to be done.

Nevertheless, before 11:00 AM, I was able to:

-Wake up at 6:45 AM. (Come on! Remember that this was a SATURDAY... this should be considered a major achievement already!!!!)

-See a trauma consult for a bladder rupture and meatal stenosis (tightness at the opening of the urethra, making insertion of a foley catheter impossible). I reviewed the CT scan, evaluated the patient, dilated his urethra (some might say 'tortured with barbaric instruments") and placed a foley. Thankfully the ICU nurse was kind enough to give the patient ample amounts of morphine and versed.

-Round on the patients at that hospital and write semi-legible notes and orders.

-"Speak" to a Russian-only speaking inpatient. Through a combination of slow english, bad russian (from my residency days), miming, facial and body contortions, I was able to make myself understood. I discharged her from the hospital and arranged for follow-up with my partner. (at last, those acting classes taken during high school extracurricular activities are finally paying off!!!!)

-Crush and stamp out a painful kidney stone via a ureteroscopy with holmium laser lithotripsy in the OR.

-Eat a banana and drink a latte in under 2 minutes flat while driving over to a second hospital.

-See a fresh post-op patient in the ICU of above mentioned hospital.

-Rush over to a third hospital whilst avoiding any speeding tickets to see a couple more patients. Wrote illegible chicken scratch notes. Spoke to many nurses. Resisted the temptation to nibble at the most enticing chocolate-frosted donut in the staff lounge. (Probably the proudest achievement of my day)

-Stop by my favorite frozen yogurt place for THE most amazing honey frozen yogurt. Tart, just slightly sweet with a hint of honey, and fat-free!!! This is a weekly saturday pit stop, whether I'm on call or not.

-Returned home to kiss my dogs, cat and hubby. (in that order!)