Last night was my first overnight shift at the downtown Chicago ED I'm rotating through. I expected blood and GSW and cops and running running running and sewing up lacs and drunk people.
But mostly I got little kids with fever and a few cases of mysterious abdominal pain. It felt like a day shift. It was actually less crazy than Friday nights in the Peoria ED. There was only one attending on for most of the night. The only real adjustment I had to make was remembering to glove up because most of my patients here have a history of IV drug use and all the stuff that goes along with that. I'm disappointed.
Well I already knew that since this hospital is one of the smaller ones in Chicago and only a Level II trauma center, that the really crazy stuff wouldn't be staying here for treatment. But I thought that we would at least get first crack at stabilizing the local stuff before sending to the bigger EDs, or maybe we would catch a few cases that got miss-triaged. Nope, looks like EMS is pretty efficient in Chicago. THat's good for the patient but boring for me. ANd I don't even like the blood and guts stuff! I'm just a little put out because I figured going to the trouble of arranging a rotation in the big city would yield some kind of unique experience. I might as well learn something if I have to be here, right?
Instead I think I just have a better appreciation for how great an experience I had in Peoria. I got first crack at a lot of stuff there, and we have neurosurgery and trauma teams and the capability to handle whatever shows up. Residents here get a lot of autonomy but do very little teaching. They have to wear ugly brown coats. Conference is mostly lecture. Also, the equipment and technology available at this over-utilized under-funded Chicago hospital is behind what I'm used to. We use upside-down bedpans to prop up ladies' bottoms when we do pelvic exams. I can't find any nitrile gloves. Residency in Peoria is starting to look terribly good...
On the other hand, I like the new all-electronic charting system. Peoria doesn't get one for another year or so. And my belly is super happy because I'm eating all sorts of interesting stuff. And this is much closer to Dan's family.
I don't know what I want. Dan said that if Peoria were physically located where Rockford is (about an hour outside Chicago), he would rank it first. I'm starting to agree. But for me, being close to Dan's family is only important because it's important to Dan. I could be fine with living 3 hours away from closest family. Maybe. I don't know.
Meanwhile, ice storms rocked the IL and one day it was -20 degrees F outside with wind. Trees got shellacked and the roads were horrendous.
Pretty, though. Through this weather my dad and my brother drove out from LA in dad's Dodge to rescue me (my Explorer died and my dad is lending me his Dodge) and flew home from Peoria. They also visited Daisy in Atlanta on their way home, which sounded nice. Seeing them was the best Christmas present ever -- I miss home.
I spent Christmas with Dan's family in Gurnee. His mom took me with them to church on Christmas Eve and I got to experience my first Catholic Mass. Then I had a long lazy weekend with them and drove home to Peoria. Geoff was in St Louis today with plans to visit Springfield and so after getting back into town I drove further south to Springfield to meet him and his GF's family at the Abraham Lincoln museum. It was really great to see him here, but strange to do it in a museum. I forgot to take pictures so nothing to post. So that's December. 
