Skip to main content

Sleep deprivation and doctor's notes

I'm no stranger to being awake for a 24-30 hour straight shift, but last night the sleepy delirium hit me in the middle of writing my admission note. During these wakeful-sleep moments, my brain tends to move from relevant thoughts to far off tangents. If my hands are on a computer keyboard when that happens...well, you'll see:

59 yo M with history of IPF admitted with dyspnea
1. Dyspnea - not likely IPF flare as able to wean very quickly. Would get an ICU overflow bed
- CT chest to evaluate nodule seen on CXR
- Sputum, blood cultures
- continue O2
- PRN albuterol-ipratropium
- continue prednisone/albuoterl as a guest speker
- would also like to add rifaximine. 
2. Lower extremity swelling - inadequate dose of lasix vs hypotension. dkl;
- will give IV vanc at 116%
-
3. Cor Pulmonale - Will get RHC, orthostatics, and WBC count together day? 
4. SIADH - stable, serial BMP 
5. Compression fracture - will continue home medications for pain. 
FEN/GI - Will give patient 3 g 5 CHO diet, low Na 
Dispo - Hpatient iwth risk of rincreased infection to due low of be louie s

What is really scary is that I knew I was sleepy and was actually making "corrections" to my mistypes. I can only imagine what kind of plan I would have had if I hadn't edited it.

Needless to say, a fellow resident caught my note in the morning, and I rewrote the whole thing.


Popular posts from this blog

Circumstance, Coincidence

Lately, I've been thinking about Tyler. His desk chair and his electric razor are two things of his that I kept (many people who knew him took items that belonged to him, to put them to use instead of going to trash and to remember him by). Sitting in what was once his chair, I can "visit" with him, in a sense. I know others who knew him are doing the same when they look at pictures, or what they kept of his. "You are the salt of the earth. Buf if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." --- Jesus, Matthew 5:13-16 This was the foundation for my fri...

Lexington Square

Lexington Square Originally uploaded by Dr Peppers . Here's a shot of the courtyard inside my townhouse complex. Just one of a few of the photos I made with my new camera . Check out my photo feed here The rest of this weekend, however, will most likely be devoted to studying and taking practice quizzes. Hopefully, at least.

Obsession

I have a habit of not updating this thing often enough. I need to work on that whole consistency thing in the midst of the rest of life’s distractions. Class has just resumed. I’ve been back in town about a week now after driving back and forth across the state for almost a week. Being back at school is almost a relief to the constant driving. This block our focus is on neurology. From the first day it is pretty apparent that it will be a challenge; just the terminology alone makes neurology seem its own language apart from medicine as a whole. On the other hand, learning about the brain is paired with learning about behavioral sciences. Currently, we’ve been having lectures on substance abuse and sexual behavior. I was talking to a fellow classmate today about why we’re both interested in the potential medical fields we are. He plans to specialize in one of the most intensive medical fields there is, if not the most intensive field there is. I don’t doubt for one minute he will fail t...