Internship: Week 10 Reflections

Hello.  As some of you may have noticed (and a few even e-mailed me to comment), my usual Friday night post never made it up.  Here it is Wednesday evening, and I'm just now sharing my reflections on week 10 (which was second week of the new rotation).  It was a super short week, with only two and a half days in the PICU.  I spent Tuesday shadowing another Specialist (more on that in a moment) and Friday the interns had the day off.  The other intern and I spent our day off writing term papers, and going to a movie together.  Fun!

Shadowing was really neat!  I spent my shadow day at another hospital in town.  Hugh Spaulding Children's Hospital is located downtown, in a rougher part of town.  The hospital is super small, with only 21 inpatient beds, an Emergency Department, a transfusion clinic for sickle cell patients, and outpatient general pediatric section.  The hospital employs one Child Life Specialist for the whole hospital.  It was quite intriguing to see how a one-specialist arrangement works.  I'll give you a hint -- you need really strong skills in prioritizing and organizing your time.  She was fabulous, and I really enjoyed my day with her.  I learned a lot, too!

Week 10 wrapped up my time in the PICU, and I'll be starting in Pulmonary week 11, with a heavy emphasis on Cystic Fibrosis and Asthma patients.  I'll try to post on time for week 11!