For those of you not in medicine, being "on call" is the time when you are the go-to guy, covering not only your patient care responsibilities but also those of an entire group of physicians...however large or small that may be. That said, not all "calls" are created equal.
When I was a resident I was on call every 4th night. This entailed me spending the night at the hospital, working 30 hour shifts, admitting new patients and taking care of any issues that arose with patients throughout the night. The best part of being on call was that the next day you were "post call" meaning you got to go home early (around 1 pm---probably only 3 or 4 hours earlier than everyone else) and take a nap----or, for me, pick up your baby from daycare and try to coax him into napping with you. Oh, and the Taco Bell I usually treated myself to on the way home.
I did this for 3 years, 2 of them with a baby. How did I do this??? I have no freaking clue. I suppose the side effect of this schedule was that I was too tired to think too hard about what was going on...and everyone else around me was doing the same thing. I liken it to boot camp...only everyone is more nerdy and not in that great of shape.
As I exited residency, there was much buzz about "duty hour restrictions" ---basically the governing bodies of medical education in this country seemed to have finally become concerned that a doctor in training during his 29th straight hour of working (possibly on his 21st straight day of working) may not be the best equipped for patient care. Duh.
So, they created new rules...which as far as I can tell (I admittedly, and thankfully, have no real reason to know the details of this...) say that you can't work those long overnight shifts and you need more time off. Sounds great, right??? Well, I say yes and no...
I admit that there were days when I finished a long shift that I was trying to tank up on coffee just to ensure I could make the drive home---the hours preceding that may not have been my finest moments as a doctor. I'm just guessing....can't really remember...also not a good sign. But I will also attest to the fact that those nights on call...when I actually felt alone and independent (well, not totally alone...you can always phone a friend!) were without a doubt the most educational and integral in my development as a physician. Being a resident is just like being a kid...eventually you have to be left alone and allowed to make your own decisions, or you'll never learn how to make good ones. Although, yes, I'd rather have the resident starting his shift than the one finishing running to my bedside...I question what these changes will mean for the overall quality of resident education and fear that in the long run we may all suffer.
Well, enough of those deep thoughts. Flash forward to present time. I've graduated residency and now, for me, being "on call" hardly can be called the same thing. I'm on call about 5 times a year. I round on babies, do an extra morning of clinic and take some phone calls. I sleep in my bed. I have yet to be called in for an emergency of any kind. Really, relatively painless. I love my job and am so happy to have the experience of residency...behind me. That said, if someone told me today that I had to repeat those 3 years, at this point in my life I'd have to meet that request with big thanks but NO THANKS.
Now take the situation of my dear hubby, Shikhar. He is in the second year of his cardiology fellowship and still taking call on a regular basis (though thankfully not on an every 4th night in the hospital kind of schedule). In addition to this, he moonlights on a rehab unit, he is partial owner of an urgent care, helps his mom run her clinic and is in the process of purchasing another clinic with his buddy. Oh yeah, and he also makes sure he's home most of every weekend and evening to spend time with me and the boys while managing the family finances. He's kind of amazing. He is by definition over-committed, but he usually makes it look so easy...
Well, not this weekend. This call weekend started with him getting called in to the hospital for emergencies most of Friday evening and night. He woke up early Saturday morning so he could go round on 29 patients...29! He came home for a couple hours before getting called back in...then we didn't see the whites of his eyes (which were really more red...) until 8 am when he came home for a quick shower before returning to the hospital to do more rounds.
When he came home that morning this is what he found...
Yes. Those are our children. Fast asleep in our bed...no sheets.
Let me explain. In addition to the ridiculous schedule Shikhar was keeping, we were operating in survival mode at home. Poor Shaan has been on a 2 week string of illness including a 3-4 day tummy bug, an ear infection, and finally waking up Saturday morning with this...
Here's the pear Sonu had to have at 5 am. He woke up around 4 am hearing Shaan and I downstairs, joined us for a cartoon then finally headed back up to my bed as I put a (finally) sleeping Shaan down in his crib. Once in my bed he was hungry, of course. An hour later I was bringing that screaming baby back to bed with us...and that is how we got to the situation you see in that photo.
Oh...no sheets? Yeah, at some point early in the evening Shaan peed the bed. At least he's well hydrated...
Well...as I kept telling myself, this too will pass. And it did. Shikhar finally rolled home for good after noon on Sunday. I made Falafel and then he and Shaanie both hit the bed for a much needed nap. I got to spend some quality time with Sonu where he didn't need to compete for attention with a sick, clingy babe. We ate dinner then hung out in the living room, everyone happy to be well-fed, (partially) rested, reunited as a family and off the clock.
So, the next time you imagine your cardiologist living the glam lifestyle...leaving the hospital to head for a golf outing in his Corvette or something, just know that he may just be going home to crawl in bed with a crazy preschooler, a sick bed wetter and a wife who hasn't showered for 2 days. Even Superman has to play Clark Kent sometimes.
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