Life as a Teacher - 3 lessons learnt

I was reflecting on my past three years of  residency training. I was thinking of the tough times I went through. There were varying degrees of hardships and experiences ranging from sudden death of a co-worker, loss of loved ones to unexpected health problems .

These experiences were life changing. At times I was fragile but then learnt to stand strong and emerged as a confident person. I grew stronger personally and developed a  deep respect for life. I learnt to be mindful and developed gratitude.

Today I want to share some lessons that I learnt along the way -

1. Take a step back

At times you feel it is the end of the world. It is easy to think that way. But once you step back and give it sometime things becomes less hazy. May be you won't find the solution immediately but you start seeing hope.

2. Let it go

I am a person who liked to keep things in control. The things that I did not have a control over made me nervous and anxious. But I have realized that letting it go makes life so simple and easy. Sometimes we tend to complicate a situation when letting it go actually resolves it on its own.
( I am sure you all have heard the song" Let it go, let it go " from the movie Frozen )

3. Ask for help

I always try to be a superwoman. I am tough and strive to be tougher. There is nothing wrong in it. But  people called "friends" exist for a reason. Friends are always just a phone call away. Yes! Even if they live across the globe in another continent( Asia in my case ).The web of friendship that you have built over years will never let you down. Sometimes opening up about a problem to your beloved ones gives you the strength.

                                       
                                 " Life isn't waiting for the storm to pass,
                                    it's about learning to dance in the rain " - Vivian Greene

A Perfect Post Call Day

No one likes to be on call. I mean we HAVE TO  take calls and there is no other option.  There are so many things that can go wrong on a call day. It can range anywhere from loosing your sign out sheet soon after sign out to a patient worsening just before shift change. You name it and I have had it all. However there is only one thing that can be right on a call day...no admissions, none at all ( dream big they say ). This never happens ,at least on my call days. (P.S. they call me am a black cloud when I am on call)

Anyways when on call I look forward to the post call day. All I care about post call is to go home and sleep, sleep and sleep.  My growling stomach is the only possible factor to wake me up. On a post call day I am immune to alarms, phone calls, text messages or even the sound of beeper going off for that matter ( tachyphylaxis ). My routine on a usual post call day is exactly like this ...As I leave the hospital I am yawning, sleepy , cranky and fussy ( I am in Peds you people ). I try to stay within the lane while driving ( I mean I try my best ). I have plans to eat on my way home but that rarely happens. As soon as I get home I change into my pajamas and I go to sleep. At times having no energy to walk past my living room to the bedroom I just crash on the sofa. I call it "living the dream on the couch ". I literally pass out till the hungry stomach wakes me up. At that point I am cursing myself for not stocking up my fridge. Or I am mad and angry at my husband for not being home when I am post call. 

This has been the scenario for most of my residency. However this past saturday (post call day ) was a totally different day, somewhat I mean. I took call overnight and was able to have interrupted couple hours of sleep (made me less cranky to begin with). It was 5 am when I thought -"Oh I can sleep for another hour " and pulled the covers over my face. It was barely 20-30 mins later that my intern called. She was in a total panic mode.  A patient was crashing. My heart skipped a beat. I jumped out of the bed and I ran to the patient's room(my only workout that weekend ). I need not tell you what followed. There was so much happening. Once everything was under control I looked at my watch. I had not realized that 2 hours had gone by. It was way past the signout time. I got the sign out list ready and left the hospital once hand offs to the day team were complete. 

As I was driving home I was WIDE awake. I did not struggle to stay within the lanes (yay!).Thanks to the couple hours of interrupted sleep overnight and the adrenaline rush from the early morning code blue. I was still in my grumpy post call mode when I reached home. As soon as I opened the door I noticed the lights were on. I realized that my parents were with me and I was not alone post call. I was overjoyed. As I changed into my pajamas, "adrakwali chai" was ready for me at the dining table. I drink tea everyday. But it is more like few sips here and there as I am getting ready to go to  work. Sometimes I get my first dose of caffeine while driving to work. But the cup of tea this post call day was a different one. It was the tea made by my mom, with love and affection. I was not just sipping the tea. I was enjoying it with my mom ( a tea lover and the best tea maker). I was able to relish the rich flavor. I was enjoying every bit of the moment, mindful of the cup of tea I was having. I could smell the aroma, savor the tea. I was soaked in the happiness of being surrounded by my parents on a post call day. A simple pleasure in life but worth a treasure. 

Should I mention that the tea was followed by hot sandwiches and then another cup of "adrakwali chai ". 
It was a perfect post call day.