What do you want to do at 2 in the morning?

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olemissbabydoc

olemissbabydoc

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During a lunch meeting yesterday, a resident offered a very insightful question into specialty choosing.

"What do you want to do at 2 in the morning? What would you actually want to get out of bed for?"

Kind of puts things in perspective. I like everything to some degree, but I honestly can't imagine getting woke up for a STEMI or COPD exacerbation or even a gunshot wound.
I could however deliver a baby or save one from an RSV or croup attack.

What do you want to do at two in the morning?
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Good way to look at things.

To add some more advice I heard recently- What would you be happy to spend your "free" time reading about for the next 40 years.
 
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At 2AM I want to be sleeping or just roll out of bed and go downstairs to my basement and read out a stat CT and go back to bed.
 
i wouldnt get out of bed for anything, tbh
 
Dude, you don't have to want to do something at 2 AM to want to do it professionally. Chances are that I wouldn't want to eat ice cream or play video games or have sex at 2 AM, unless I was already up. Waking up super early sucks badly regardless of what you're doing it for.

INB4 "already up" joke...perverts.
 
I actually wouldn't mind getting up to go do some sort of procedure because that way I can justify being woken up in the middle of the night. I'd be more pissed off if I had to wake up to do some sort of administrative/paper work (like call in orders blehhhhhh).
 
I wouldn't get up at 2 am if someone called and told me the hospital was burning down and my patients were running through the streets on fire.
 
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I'd prefer to avoid it unless a nice check comes as a result.

If I absolutely must go in, that person better be real sick.
 
MilkmanAl said:
Dude, you don't have to want to do something at 2 AM to want to do it professionally. Chances are that I wouldn't want to eat ice cream or play video games or have sex at 2 AM, unless I was already up. Waking up super early sucks badly regardless of what you're doing it for.

INB4 "already up" joke...perverts.
Click to expand...

That's what she said. ;)
 
I prefer shift work. That way, if I'm up at 2 I haven't been woken up and I know that I'll be going home in a few hours without ever being tied to a pager.
 
thepoopologist said:
I wouldn't get up at 2 am if someone called and told me the hospital was burning down and my patients were running through the streets on fire.
Click to expand...

this

i might tell them to call me back in 30 min if they still need my car or something
 
MilkmanAl said:
Dude, you don't have to want to do something at 2 AM to want to do it professionally. Chances are that I wouldn't want to eat ice cream or play video games or have sex at 2 AM, unless I was already up. Waking up super early sucks badly regardless of what you're doing it for.

INB4 "already up" joke...perverts.
Click to expand...

This.

Especially when I'm older and married with kids.
 
What's wrong with video games at 2 am in the morning :confused:
 
2012mdc said:
This.

Especially when I'm older and married with kids.
Click to expand...

I second this. Not far into third year and it has been tough having a little one in the house. Because of early bed times etc it's easy to go a few days with out getting to see your kids. It really sucks.
 
If it's 2 am I'mma sleep.

This doesn't mean I won't get up if I have to do my job... but I'm sure everyone would just sleep if they had the opportunity.
 
surftheiop said:
Good way to look at things.

To add some more advice I heard recently- What would you be happy to spend your "free" time reading about for the next 40 years.
Click to expand...

Personally I think this is better advice. As for the 2 am question, Id hope most people would answer sleep.
 
What are these non-emergency specialties that are good?

IM sub specialties? (GI?) Just curious.
 
welll....part of it depends on who im in bed with and how much i had to drink.
 
Up until this year I've been perpetually on a vampire circadian rhythm since freshman year in college-excluding the year I had to work full-time

I honestly wouldn't mind being up all night and sleeping all day but unfortunately that's not how the world works-I had to get used to seeing so much daylight 3rd year:cool:
 
Last edited:
olemissbabydoc said:
During a lunch meeting yesterday, a resident offered a very insightful question into specialty choosing.

"What do you want to do at 2 in the morning? What would you actually want to get out of bed for?"

Kind of puts things in perspective. I like everything to some degree, but I honestly can't imagine getting woke up for a STEMI or COPD exacerbation or even a gunshot wound.
I could however deliver a baby or save one from an RSV or croup attack.

What do you want to do at two in the morning?
Click to expand...

Heart transplant
Put a baby on ECMO
Maybe a Type A Dissection
 
That's a really good question. It's like the medical equivalent of "if you had a million dollars, what career would you choose?"

"What are you called to do as important, even when nothing feels important"
 
It's funny this is a thread. This is 100% how I decided to go into my specialty. I realized one night on call that I would rather be working than sleeping at 2:30AM.

So whoever asked you that question gave you some good advice!
 
I don't mind being up late if I have to or being woken up for an emergency. I plan on doing rads now so it would be more night shift stuff for diagnostics and some call for stat IR procedures. Personally though I'm just not naive enough to not think my priorities won't change as I get older. Doing late night stuff during residency/fellowship and occasionally during my early years on my own in the field won't be a big deal. Not sure I will have the same attitude 30 years from now though...
 
SlickNickMD said:
Up until this year I've been perpetually on a vampire circadian rhythm since freshman year in college-excluding the year I had to work full-time

I honestly wouldn't mind being up all night and sleeping all day but unfortunately that's not how the world works-I had to get used to seeing so much daylight 3rd year:cool:
Click to expand...

+1.

I am an old guy that is changing careers. When I have a vacation my sleep cycle is stay up to about 3 AM then sleep till 11AM or 12 pm. This is my default. When I need to wake up to work at 5 AM it sort of gets in the way of my natural sleep cycle.

I am starting to think EM swing or grave shift would be good for me.

dsoz
 
i would like to sleep
or
i will make a plan of teasing my friends at that time
etc by calls or by msgs
 
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