Expect the Unexpected

I'm currently in my first week of Infectious Disease. I've found it interesting, but at the same time just meh. I'm still in the post exam I don't give a flip. The doctor I have been assigned to is relatively new to Chicago Memorial Hospital and as such doesn't get quite as many consults as the established doctor. He makes up for by doing a great deal of administrative and policy development work. Because he felt bad that my partner and I haven't been getting quite as much hands on exposure he invited us to accompany him to another hospital where he rounds. My school used to send students to this hospital, but about nine months ago ended the affiliation for reasons that rumors still abound. The most consistent rumors focus on the fact that there are just too many students at said hospital, and that the standard of care is lacking. I had never been able to confirm it, nor did I see any chance, and quite frankly it wasn't something with which I was overly concerned. 

The hospital is nowhere near where I live, but I had known a handful of people who had rotated there. Getting there was a pain. It took close to an hour due to traffic on not one, but two expressways. The reception staff just gave us a visitors sticker without vetting us as students and away we went. When the (creaky) elevator doors opened BOOM MEDLAM!! People were everywhere. Nurses hollering out orders. Charts being whisked every which way. Medical students all over the place--seriously this place was overloaded with medical students. There were nine of us surrounding the one doctor huddled in a corner trying to get notes done. All the while this one resident on call would come over the doctor looking completely overwhelmed (not an unusual feeling for a resident I'm sure) and just stand there and want him to listen to her. At one point I thought she was going to cry and was basically just begging for someone to hold her hand. I could sympathize with her but once she stood there for thirty minutes telling war stories. At that point, we have five more patients to review (and the doctor likes to go off on rabbit trails) and I'm just thinking It's almost 6pm. I live over an hour from here. Please go away and do your job so we can do ours. I'm happy to be here to learn, but you're not helping me learn. I finally got home close to nine. Since I have been getting home at like 3 or four I hadn't made any preparations for things like thawing meat, so I just went to Taco Bell, watched the Blackhawks game, and called it a night. What a life I have sometimes!!!