On being an intern

So here's a brief summary of this year so far:

Feb--celebrated our first anniversary
March--Match Day...going to Jacksonville for residency!
March--going to Jacksonville pregnant for residency!
May--graduated...officially the Doctors Reader
June--left Nola, moved to Jax
July--left all normalcy behind and started this time warp called residency

So here I am today, 21 weeks pregnant (over half-way there!) and about 3 weeks of doctoring under my belt. Everyone says that as an intern, you experience the steepest learning curve you will ever have; that in your first weeks you know no more than you did as a 4th year med student (actually less because you've forgotten it all); that it's terrifying; that it's exhausting; but that it gets better eventually. These are pretty cliche statements in the medical field and yet they really didn't mean much to me until now. I so agree with all but the last statement...I'll let you know about that one at the end of the year.

As far as two interns being married, there are pros and cons. I get a lot of surprised/sympathetic/skeptical looks when I mention that my husband is a General Surgery intern. Yes, it's tough not seeing him for a week straight. Yes, it sucks that our schedules have been completely opposite and that I work on every single one of his days off this month and vice-versa. However, thank god we work in the same hospital as each other...we at least see each other every few days when he is in the ED for a consult. Thank god we both understand the other person's schedule and the demands that comes with being an intern. Thank god he doesn't get upset because I come home and go straight to sleep because I can't keep my eyes open for one more second. Basically, I don't think it's ever easy being an intern or an intern's significant other.

As far as being a pregnant intern, I don't know any differently since I've been pregnant since I started. Again, being a resident is tiring and stressful anyway. I am amazed, though, at how deformed my swollen feet and legs look after a 12 hour shift in the ED. They kind of just look like two ginormous sausages.

I have to give props to Dixie and Nala who seem to be very understanding of our crazy schedules. No one has peed on the floor out of anger at our absence yet. Hopefully they'll be as understanding when the baby comes and invades their space.