My last week at Stanford Hospital was on the graveyard shift, from 7pm to 7am. Night shifts are always hard for me. Though I'm able to switch over, it's exhausting, and no matter how much sleep I get, I always feel behind. When I arrive at 7pm, I usually finish up late-running cases from the daytime. It feels a little odd, closing cases that I didn't start, but the system works best this way; those anesthesiologists who didn't expect to stay late (and presumably have to work early the following day) get to go home. Then I take care of any add-on cases that weren't able to be done in the morning. I check the trauma room. And if all goes well, I get to take a nap while waiting for any code blues, traumas, or emergency surgeries.
For the most part, something comes up each night. I had exploratory laparotomies for acute abdomens, appendectomies, ruptured ectopic pregnancies, and a fracture causing compartment syndrome. It's a pretty good mix and ensures that I have to be ready for anything. I don't have much time to prepare so I have to formulate and execute an anesthetic plan quickly. I didn't have any major codes or serious traumas during my nights and so it wasn't too bad at all.
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