Surgery Rotation : When do I eat ?

[kornphan]

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I am putting in anywhere from 14 to 30 hours a day, as you all know, no one cares on how long, how tired, how hungry etc. etc we are .. but what's the best / polite / correct way to ask for a little break so I can go eat something and get off my aching feet for 10 mins ?.

Intern that we work with does his own thing and we have no clue where he is, I paged him yesterday and he said he was taking a break...... I have tried bringing a snack with me but rarely have time/place to eat it... I have also tried asking him if I can get him something to eat but they just blow us off ... since no one will come to us and tell us to take a break, whats the best way to ask for one, or are we not allowed any till MS 4 ;-) ... ? Thanks ....

korndawg

 

[carol ann]

we got lucky because we had lectures one or two times per day. I tended to carry one of those little packs of crackers and cheese in my pockets to stuff in my face before my longer cases.

Also, are you occupied/busy every minute of the day? If so, that sucks...there were times that I had 5 or 10 minutes here or there that I could run away and get food.

Sleep however, is an entirely different issue.

 

[Spang]

I carry snack-sized baggies with Fig Newtons or similar in my coat pocket and eat them while taking the stairs between floors. Sleep when you're dead.

Spang

 

[Boomer]

Eat when you can. Sleep when you can. Shat when you can. Leave when you can.

Any questions?

 

[Jaded Soul]

I am putting in anywhere from 14 to 30 hours a day

You have much bigger problems than figuring out when to eat if you're working 30 hours a day!

 

[Leforte]

Just tell your resident that you are going to grab something to eat between cases and go...

Seriously, most residents could care less whether you are there or not for the 15 minutes it takes to get some chow. Most of the time when I was a student I was just following the resident anyway between patients and they were more focused on making sure the post-op stuff was done and the next patient was ready to go. As a resident now, I take the students through everything a couple of times, have them do it a couple of times, and after that, there is really no learning going on for the student and their time is just as well spent getting food...

Alternatively, if you don't want to take the direct route, just say your going to go check on the floor patients, and while you are doing that, grab some food, too. Once you return to the OR, just let them know what's going on upstairs - the upper levels will appreciate the update. If the next case has already begun, just ask the resident to scrub in (if it's a problem, they'll ask the attending) - In general, they'll be glad to have the extra pair of hands to retract....

 

[bobbyseal]

I never really found it that hard to find time to at least get something to eat mid day. Sure there were times when I would go from 7am until 9pm without anything to eat, but that's really why the term a surgeon's breakfast came out.

Between cases go and grab some food. I found on surgery it was pretty easy to disappear for a bit while you weren't scrubbed and then come back to the floor or the OR. My impression was that the residents/attendings could really care less about us being there. So long as we did things to help out the residents on the floor they would be happy. So long as you kiss the attendings ass and assure him of how amazing the lipoma excision is they stay happy.

Just tell your resident that you are going to grab something to eat between cases and go...

Seriously, most residents could care less whether you are there or not for the 15 minutes it takes to get some chow. Most of the time when I was a student I was just following the resident anyway between patients and they were more focused on making sure the post-op stuff was done and the next patient was ready to go. As a resident now, I take the students through everything a couple of times, have them do it a couple of times, and after that, there is really no learning going on for the student and their time is just as well spent getting food...

Alternatively, if you don't want to take the direct route, just say your going to go check on the floor patients, and while you are doing that, grab some food, too. Once you return to the OR, just let them know what's going on upstairs - the upper levels will appreciate the update. If the next case has already begun, just ask the resident to scrub in (if it's a problem, they'll ask the attending) - In general, they'll be glad to have the extra pair of hands to retract....

 

[IV Doc]

the problem is medical students think that interns care about what they do. Also 5 interns evaluations is equal to one attendings evaul. So remember this.

 

[nidaqadir]

or some other type of energy bar, in your white coat pocket, at all times. that was the only way i got to eat during some parts of my surgery rotation. i always felt like a schmuck asking for a lunch break.

I am putting in anywhere from 14 to 30 hours a day, as you all know, no one cares on how long, how tired, how hungry etc. etc we are .. but what's the best / polite / correct way to ask for a little break so I can go eat something and get off my aching feet for 10 mins ?.

Intern that we work with does his own thing and we have no clue where he is, I paged him yesterday and he said he was taking a break...... I have tried bringing a snack with me but rarely have time/place to eat it... I have also tried asking him if I can get him something to eat but they just blow us off ... since no one will come to us and tell us to take a break, whats the best way to ask for one, or are we not allowed any till MS 4 ;-) ... ? Thanks ....

korndawg

 

[Gauss]

look very closely at what your intern is doing
you say he does his own thing and was taking a break.
Why can't you?
This is a trap you fall into at the beginning of your third year - you're too focused (and scared) to take breaks, get food, etc.
Time to chill
Ain't no one gonna die if they don't have a med student write a note or scrub in as a human retractor.
The hospital will continue to function just fine without you for 1/2 hour.

Also assess what you want out of this - do you want honors? Are you gunning for that field? Are you impressing them all that much?
Even your best efforts may not yield honors, so don't go killing yourself over this.