News flash

Heeellllloooo, world! As of this moment, I am 2 down and 8 to go for MICU calls, and last night was great. OK, maybe not great, but very good. Team B&E managed to score only 1 transfer from the floor and NO new admissions. Woohoo! You know what that means? Well, I'll tell ya. Eight hours of sleep, that's what! This is especially sweet because the other residents gave us a hard time on their way out the door yesterday about us getting the extra hour of call for "fall back." Well, the joke's on you, guys, because we scored an extra hour of sleep while on call. Take that. But that's not even the really good news.
The really good news is that I realized about halfway through the night that I'm not scared of the MICU anymore. Once you realize that 1) All you can do is all you can do AND 2) The worst thing that could happen is everyone coding and dying, it's much easier. What I mean by that is the realization that I can't save them all (and honestly, that decision is ultimately and infinitely above my pay grade), and as long as I do everything I know the best I can, that's all there is to it. No one can ask anymore or expect any less from me. That's been a long time coming, huh? Too bad I couldn't have had this epiphany months ago. Don't take me wrong here; I'm still firmly in the low-adrenaline rheumatology camp. I just thought I'd share my moment of clarity. Let's hope it sticks with me when everyone actually does start coding next time I'm on call.