A good day
“Vacation” was over Monday, but my first two days back at the clinic sucked. The heavy snow and howling wind didn’t help my mood either. But yesterday was a different story.
First of all I was swamped, always a good thing for me. If I’m focusing on other people’s troubles I don’t have time to feel sorry for myself. I also like a busy day. I actually have more energy on a busy day. Nothing wears me out more than a day with too much time on my hands.
It was pretty much back-to-back patients yesterday, with a couple of walk in pseudo-emergencies to add flavor to the day. My building was also half full of crying babies and a constant babble of Spanish. It was WIC day (Women, Infants, and Children). I host a visit from the WIC program once per month. They help low-income women with groceries and education. Between patients I can slip out of my office and play with the babies and toddlers.
It was also a day where three patients came in to report that their blood sugars were “totally whacked.” This has lead to a new diagnosis: CWBG, short for Clinically Whacked Blood Glucose, which is characterized by crazy and vexing variations in BGL.
It was good exercise for my brain. I do like a good mystery. I do like solving difficult puzzles (so long as they aren’t jig-saw puzzles which I absolutely hate!).
Anyway, since about Thanksgiving I’ve been dealing with high cancellation and no-show rates. Too much time in the office with nothing useful to do. I was beginning to feel worthless; and even though I’m not paid much, I was beginning to feel the clinic was wasting their money to pay me to sit in my office and feel sorry for myself.
My poor guilt-ridden patients just didn’t want to come in with cookie crumbs on their chins during the Carbmass season. But they are back now, and I assured them that I had been every bit as “bad” as they had been. (Had they come they’d have seen the brownie crumbs on my keyboard.) Oh well, I guess my false image as a role model is intact. Next December I going to beg Doctors without Borders to send me to Algeria or somewhere warm where I can actually be of use for the month.
But yesterday I had numerous opportunities to practice some good medicine. To make a difference. To make people feel and be better. I felt like I had a purpose once again.
It was a very good day.