My Job is...

• Wonderful: I must admit, I am a pretty lucky lady to work where I do. I am there with families as they become Mommy and Daddy for the first time or the fifth. I get to be there as sweet little spirits enter this world, watch tears flow and faces light up as infants are placed in their parents arms. I get to offer encouragement and help through each experience, sometimes helping someone do something they don't think they can.




• Humbling: I am also frequently made strongly aware that I have a lot more to learn. You have a few shifts that make you feel like you have got this thing down. Then I miss every IV I try to start for the next two weeks. I am reminded that I am practicing medicine and I will never be perfect. Learning is a continual progress that must be sought after.




• A Team: I work with some of the most amazing people! No matter what is going on and how crazy the night you know that you will never be alone in a situation. If you need help and are willing to ask for it, there are lots of hands willing to be there with you. No one looks down on you if you look to them for answers or guidance in the care you give. Each one is encouraging and kind.




• An Adrenaline Rush: Many people don't think of the Labor and Delivery unit as an ER but they should try it sometime. Delivering babies in cars and hallways are not unheard of. If you want to see our entire unit get up and run, then bring a lady having her 5th baby screaming through the entrance that her water is broken and the head is coming out!




• Frustrating: I am not against unmedicated deliveries, in fact I am amazed by women who are able to do this. I feel like they are wonder women actually. I will do everything I can to help them achieve this goal and respect their plans and wishes for their birth. Now, that said there needs to be a little bit of respect given back. When I come in to put the monitors on your belly it isn't because I want to be mean, cause you pain,or inhibit your focus in anyway. I am actually required by law to monitor your baby to make sure that it is tolerating labor well. I will take it off as soon as possible as long as your little one looks reassuring. Give respect, get respect.




• Hilarious: You have no idea how funny things can be at 3 o'clock in the morning. And you would also be surprised to find out that pretty fantastic lingerie can be fashioned out of surgical masks and other supplies lying around the unit to spice up a co-workers honeymoon.




• Mind Boggling: Some of the things people ask me to do or to let them do is very interesting. First, placentas were meant to be thrown away! Not eaten like a steak, dehydrated and taken in capsule form, or planted in your garden. If you want to do it, great and I will put it in a nice clean Tupperware for you to take it home in but that doesn't mean I don't want to gag thinking about it. Second, when I am asked to not dry or stimulate the baby after it has been born to allow for it to transition naturally and absorb the vernix into it's skin it is taking every last bit of control I have to respect their choice especially if the baby is struggling. That often leads to some quick explaining of what is happening and a little prayer that they will change their mind. Third, gloves are a good thing! I don't care if you are the patients husband, some bodily excretions should not be touched with bare hands and vernix is not lotion. Blech! Finally, my biggest battle and pet peeve... hep-locks. I have to poke you anyway to draw admission labs, you might as well let me leave a little tube in your arm to give us access in case you hemorrhage or something crazy like that.




• Heart wrenching: Along with all of life's other experiences the good is counteracted with the bad. I get to be there for them both. I have had to be at the bedside as a mother finds out that her little on has returned to heaven. These experiences are never easy, my heart aches and tears fall as I wrap tiny, perfect little bodies and hand them to their grieving parents. My heart aches as I try to come up with any words of comfort. It doesn't matter if they are 16 weeks or 40 weeks, those sweet parents have lost their little one. I had a wonderful mentor that tearfully shared this thought with a parent who had asked them if she thought they should name their little one. "You carried that little spirit under your heart for - weeks, she is part of your little family. You put her name in your Bible and make her a part of your family if that's what feels right to you." I have never forgot the tenderness that was in her voice and the pure love and compassion that she showed to them.




• Full of Opposites: The other night we had an emergency c-section with complications that put both mom and baby in danger. The baby was out quickly and the maternal issues were stabilized and corrected. From a medical standpoint things were on the up and up and we knew that. But the poor husband/new father, who was unable to accompany his wife to the operating room didn't. As I looked at him with his eyes full of tears I witnessed his internal turmoil of trying to be happy that I was telling him that his baby was out and doing wonderfully and the absolute terror of losing someone he loved. I thought about being in that situation and couldn't imagine how that must have felt.




• Stressfull: Nights when every room is full, and more ladies keep walking in the door and there is not enough of us to take care of everyone are nights when you have to laugh or cry. Also adding keeping the staffing at an absolute minimum and adding additional responsibilities and training to our already descent list...a little stressful.

This post was not meant to be offensive in any way...I have just had a bunch of these feeling floating around in my mind for a while and had to get some of them out to make room for other things.