Lines, tubes and protocols

On call again.

And apparently, my formerly stable white cloud, which served me well through two years of residency, has turned black. Every freaking time I'm on call I either get really high volume or really sick kids.

Even the chief resident noticed. As a matter of fact - he made it official. He looked at me tonight and said, "Well, you have a second PICU admission on the way. I should have known - it's your call night, after all."

But first I have to explain what a white or black cloud is. A resident with a 'white cloud' is someone who has easy call nights. Few admissions, no one too sick, no social disasters, no transfers from the PICU. A resident with a 'black cloud' (which would now be me) gets multiple admissions, Sick patients, folks on other people's teams going from sick to Sick, social nightmares and issues with miscommunication between consulting services.

Oh, the joy.

It didn't used to be this way. I sailed through most nights on call, at least here at the community hospital. I never cared for more than, oh, five patients. Luscious. Apparently, that is not to be my fate this time around.

I know I sound whiny. I'm sorry, I'll stop soon. I just needed to follow in Ween's footsteps and take a moment to bitch.

On a brighter note, friends will be coming over to dinner Sunday night. Yay!