I matched!!

So around this time of year, messy medics go mad with fears / anticipation re: job security! But last week was Match week and 15000 US med students + several thousand foreign grads (US IMGs and FMGS alike) found out on St. Paddy's Day whether they matched into residency or not. Fortunately for me, I came out on the happy side, no worries about having to scramble! Heading to Metropolitan Hospital / NYMC in June to start my life as an Emergency Medicine doc. I was overjoyed, but I have to say the climax was taken away a little as I'd gotten clues and really positive emails from the program so I sort of knew in advance. It was the only EM program I interviewed at so I'm really thankful they gave me the chance - EM is fairly competitive at the moment with roughly 50% of non-US applicants matching.

So on Thursday when people found out which program we matched to, we went out for dinner at a gorgeous Indian restaurant (Jaipur, St. George's street) and met up with one of our friends/classmates who's interning in Australia (perth). Went to a pub afterwards to try to celebrate with the RCSI people who matched, but all of us except 1 faded really early.

It'll be really exciting moving to Manhattan, I think Metropolitan give us subsidized housing. I'm a little nervous cuz it'll be a big change and I won't know many people there, but it's only a short hop over the pond to visit my Irish mates. We're already planning visits. The ED department there is a lot different from the ones I did electives in as it's smaller and a bit more cramped, but we rotate through 4 hospitals so should see a really diverse patient pool. I haven't heard much about this program and the chief residents were quite positive about it, but of course they sort of have to be...it seems like a program which has opportunities for growth, and I like that it could be a place someone like me could have a positive impact on and vice versa. Plus, it's manhattan!!! Haven't heard from them yet but it's a holiday weekend ...can't wait to find out my schedules, etc.

I applied to A&E jobs here in Dublin too and got great feedback. I applied for the AE scheme in SJH, and while I didn't get it, I think I was the only intern who got an interview. I realized I was really junior to be even applying. I did however, get one of the two 6 month posts and the other guy is one who is two years my senior, so I was chuffed about it. They thought my experience was really advanced for my level of training (electives, ACLS and ATLS + PALS certs this year). I got interviews for the other 4 Dublin AE hospitals, but I turned two of them down and went to the St. Vincents scheme interview for the practice. And, i really love my suit! (hehe) . So it'll be awkward rejecting my job offer here as I already told HR I was going to accept, but c'est la vie.

It comes at a great time because all of us are starting to get really really tired of being interns. I don't know of a single one of us who's really enjoying the job right now, we want our lives to start and call just sucks.

Right now I'm nearly finished with my Medicine for the Elderly (geriatrics) rotation and I've really not liked it. I'm more a surgery person anyway, but this job been absolutely mind-rotting. I'm redundant...there's no real reason why my team needs me, there's really no individual thought as there was on surgery, no independence and NO TEACHING! I've learned absolutely ZILCH on this rotation, although I have gotten a little more familiar with some drugs.

Med El call is so irritating because it's more frequent than usual and although it's more relaxed work-wise, I don't find myself getting any more sleep. Your sleep is so disturbed by the nurses calling you for every stupid little thing because except for the acute ward, the nurses in the rehab/long stay wards aren't accustomed to handling any even minor medical issue or prioritizing. You know, i really don't give a damn that someone's bp is 150/90 at 3 am. They are completely inflexible and get so nervous every time they think their protocol isn't going to be followed. You end up getting bleeped hourly and get very disturbed sleep, and I then am kept awake because I'm fuming. And then on weekends, you carry the cardiac arrest bleep and each time I'm on the weekend, I get a cardiac arrest at like 4 am and then can't go back to sleep cuz you can hear everything in the shithole that's our doctor's res. And to top it off, these acute old people have poor access and are really difficult to cannulate or get bloods off. Anyway, call turns the sweetest people into bitches on wheels and everyone spends the whole time so angry. It's exhausting and no one likes feeling that way on a regular basis. Anyway, rant over.

I'm starting in general medicine 1st week of April, which will be busier but I'm looking forward to it and hoping I'll learn something. I'm going to start studying again for USMLE Step 3, but it won't be really serious studying yet - I just want to refresh the info that i've lost. But as I'm "in recovery" today, perhaps I'll start tomorrow :).