I wake up at 6am, get ready for the day, get in my car and arrive at Sacred Heart at 7am. I live about 10 miles away from the hospital, but my commute is only about 15-18 minutes because traffic is minimal. I am on our Consult/Liaison service currently. I stop at the cafeteria to get some breakfast and a coffee, and head to the resident room. I pre-chart on my patients. I have one new consult today and six follow-up patients. I meet at 8:30am with my attending to discuss the list and determine which follow-up patients need to be seen. I see most of those patients in the morning and staff with the attending, Dr. Carlson (who is incredible). In the afternoon, I have a therapy supervision meeting, see a few more patients, work on notes, and head home at 5:30 pm.
Same morning routine, I get to the hospital at 7 am and pick up coffee and breakfast at the cafeteria. We get $3,000 per year to spend at the cafeteria (a HUGE benefit that makes my life and budget much easier). Today, I see two new consults and four follow-ups. One of them was catatonic and responded to Ativan, yay! No meetings today, and I head home at 5:30pm. In the evenings, my wife makes dinner, and I spend most of my time playing with my 18-month old daughter and our dog. She always greets me with a hug which is the best part of my day. She loves to go to the neighborhood park and play on the play set. I put her down at 9pm and finish about 30 minutes of notes before going to bed.
Morning is the same: get to the hospital at 7, review patients at 8:30 and start seeing patients. Journal club is Wednesdays at 12 pm for residents working at the hospital. We discussed the Minnesota Starvation Experiment. Super interesting! I finish seeing patients and notes at 6 pm, then I come home for dinner and playtime. We’re trying to get my daughter Quinn to learn how to ride a tricycle.
This day is a little different because there are didactics. I finish all of my patient care by 1:30 pm. We have T-group (therapy group) at that time. The first- and second-year residents meet over zoom with Dr. Green to discuss our current rotations and the highs and lows that we experience. Then, we have two hours of lecture. Today, it was on social determinants of mental health. Then, one hour of group activities/lecture on supportive therapy in preparation for starting supportive therapy clinic with Gonzaga students.
Fairly routine day. No meetings. I see two new consults and four follow-ups throughout the day and head home at 6:30pm. Things took a little longer today because of managing a delirious patient requesting to leave AMA and participating in a patient care conference. My in-laws came in to town today, so we went out to dinner at Craft and Gather in Spokane Valley (their pork chop is amazing).
Sleep in until 8:30am which is when my daughter wakes up. We make banana strawberry smoothies for breakfast and head to one of the many lovely parks in Spokane where Quinn meets a few friends and plays on the play structure and uses the swing set. My brother-in-law meets us there with his Corgi. After nap time, we go shopping at the Spokane Valley mall to find some clothes for Quinn. We enjoy a quiet evening catching up with the family.
My in-laws leave pretty early. We watch church live on TV (because of COVID). I make pumpkin pancakes using the Trader Joe’s mix. There are two TJ’s in Spokane, a huge plus! I take a nap in the afternoon, then work on some homework for supportive therapy. At 5pm, all the R2's, including myself and my family, met at a co-resident's house for a class get-together, and he made incredible homemade pizza. Overall a nice relaxing Sunday!
