Working 10-hour days is quite an adjustment. The longest shift I ever worked for my job at the University Library was five hours. And, oh, was it boring. It was actually a kind of unspoken rule that our shifts were to be absolutely no longer than that. We would have pulled our hair out from boredom, before imminently quitting, otherwise.

Anyway. I went into this internship expecting a typical work week—eight-hour days, five days a week, weekends off.  Reality check.  Somebody should give you a formal warning before you enter the world of healthcare. It’s a completely different scene. You don’t get holidays, or nights, or weekends. People never know when they will get sick, people will always need care, and emergencies occur often and unpredictably. Hence the term—emergency--defined as a “sudden crisis requiring action.”

Not that I’m dealing with emergencies, or taking care of people, or even admitting them to the hospital for whatever reason. However, I go visit every new admission and screen them for the dietitian. I gather their information and record their answers to questions that I ask them, put it all into a computer, and decide whether or not they should be referred to the registered dietician. And guess what? Every day there are new admissions. At any time during the day somebody is being brought into the hospital or somebody is taken home from the hospital.

Result: I didn’t get my 9-to-5. I don’t have my Monday to Friday. Oh, no. Instead, I have 7 to 5:30, or 9 to 7:30. I have Tuesday to Friday or Friday to Monday. Or Wednesday to Sunday. I see very young, and I see very old. I see cancer, and high fever, and end-stage renal disease.  I work with cardiac diets, and diabetic diets, and the very dreaded….clear liquid diet. I have to tell people who have sodium restrictions that, Yes….that means you can’t have both french-fries and cheesecake in one meal. Moderation, people. Simply moderation.  (Easier said than done, I know this.)

So, what’s the “up” side to all of this? I have three-day weekends!  They might not be the typical Friday, Saturday, Sunday….but it’s still three days that I have off. Three days I have to do “me” things—be productive, relax, enjoy a good book, a good run, or a tasty martini.  I had hoped that the first on that list would happen more often than not, but let’s be honest….when you work 10 hours a day, it basically means you come home and do absolutely nothing. Well, except the obvious, necessary things. Check e-mail, check blogs, read the book (whatever the flavor of the week is, I’m totally a summer bookworm!*), or get some sleeeeeep.

After two weeks I’m trying to find a balance between my work-days and my off-days. I’m starting to adjust to the work-life, as opposed to the school-life…or even the Yes!-I’m finally on summer break-life. I have summer assignments to complete for my internship, books to read (by choice….but I can’t stop reading!*), and some TV to catch up on here and there.  I’ve scheduled appointments for my days off (personal hygiene is important too, let’s not forget this! Plus, who doesn’t love a good haircut?!), and I’m attempting to train for my next half-marathon at the end of July.  Ehhh, we’ll see how that goes.

In the meantime, I’m enjoying my job. I’m adjusting to this schedule, and I’m making some money to save up in the process.

*Books I’ve read so far, and highly recommend for your reading pleasure:
Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee
Change of Heart by Jodi Piccoult

Posted by Mary Ellen Nunes at 06/17/2008 04:12:32 PM