First Blog

Hey everyone,
This is my first blog... don't judge me too harshly. I'm getting ready to go to bed and get ready for an early morning in the hospital. I'll be working up until I have the wedding tomorrow. Something I've realized up until this point in my residency is that time is precious. Sometimes I wonder if I've really done the best thing by going into this field. It's true that there are many rewards to be experienced but at the same time, that comes at a price. I know that things will eventually get better but the journey is pretty rough right now.

I feel like I'm changing through this in order to survive. I eat meals in less than five minutes. I can work on less than 6 hours of sleep regularly. I am able to locate a coffee pot on any floor in any hospital... these skills are important if a person is going to survive the daily scut that is medical residency.

When you work the kind of hours a resident does, you begin to really value the time away from the hospital - it feels like stolen minutes that becomes your currency. Unfortunately - I feel constantly overdrawn. There are so many demands on my time because the people I love are saving up the things they want do to with me until I get home and all I can think about is sitting/laying/falling down and closing my eyes for a few minutes... that rarely happens though. I find myself trying to keep going until I know in my brain that if I go any further the next day will be impossible to work through. In short - I have no FREE time. I wish I had valued the time in college and medical school more. Oh well, they tell me that things change - I can only hope for that...

Until next time...
Neal Anson, MD