MICU, Day #18

My first unenjoyable day in the MICU. Happenings at the VA Hospital seem to occur in slow motion. The MICU is no exception - patients get admitted, taking their time to heal (if they can). It's a rather low-capacity intensive care unit - due to staffing cutbacks, there can be no more than six patients in this unit at any one time. Since I've been here, the admissions to the unit have been few and far between. I myself have only admitted one patient, and it was a patient that really didn't have to be in the unit in the first place. We booted him back to the general medicine floor pretty quickly. The other patient I had been following got better while I was out of town, so when I returned, I had nobody to follow.

The team of residents and interns has turned over completely, so nobody remains of the original MICU team. That team spoiled me - the original residents were particularly good at making sure I was getting the most out of the rotation. They gave me lectures, papers, and invaluable clinical pearls. The new team...not so much. The new resident didn't even bother to meet me today, just looking in my direction as if I'd passed gas - loudly - in the middle of rounds. The residents and interns pretty much just talk amongst themselves and leave me out of the discussion.

My first feeling was one of paranoia - what had I done (or not done) to now be excluded from the rest of the team? Did I fail to engage them enough intellectually? Am I asking stupid questions? Did I run an inappropriate plan for the patients? I've come to the conclusion that the reason is far simpler: They simply have no interest in teaching medical students. At least not this one.

So, I got my work done before noon. I ate lunch. I sat around for an hour studying or following up on the patients. Mercifully, one of the interns sent me home in the early afternoon.

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Six days until Match Day!