01 June 2008
First Day of CPE
02 June 08 22:50 Filed in: CPE
Good gravy. Note to self: adjusting to time zone
changes takes several days. The last few, since
arriving here on thursday, I have allowed myself the
luxury of late nights and mornings, which effectively
kept me on California time. Now, nothing against you,
California time, it’s just that right now I would
rather not see you around. You know how it is. It’s a
professional thing. Soo... this morning, I woke up at
6:00, which to my jet-plane-travel-addled body felt
much more like 3:00, and so embarked on my first day
of CPE with not precisely all cylinders firing…
That said, it was a remarkably good first day. I’m glad that they have done away with the “old style” CPE programs that, as Joe (our supervisor) put it, pushed you over the edge and then tried to catch you. I get the idea that there was little in the way of support, and a lot in the way of tough situations with patients, families, etc. White males beating up on white males as Joe continued. Now, in the sensitive and much more excellent 21st century, we have a more supportive and encouraging atmosphere in which to deal with probably more of the previously mentioned patients and families.
We spent the day mostly just getting to know one another, the hospital, and the program. The group of seven CPEers includes mostly Christians (one Jew), including one other Episcopalian. The others come from a variety of backgrounds, and it will be fun to see what all each of us brings to the table. I don’t really want to say much more about them, though, since they’re not here to defend themselves!
My initial nerves about the whole business seem largely to have quieted now that I’m actually in it. I’m not even really that nervous about my first overnight this coming Saturday. Generally, the program goes from 8:30am to 4:30pm, but 10 nights out of the summer we have to stay over, from 4:45pm to 7:45am. There’s an on-call room that we can use to try to catch some of the ever-ephemeral and coquettish Z’s that taunt us with their promises of rest, but, by all accounts, flee (and justly so) when the Duty Pager goes off. During the on-call overnights, the duty chaplain is the sole pastoral presence for the whole hostpital, especially for the ER (or ED [emergency department] as they prefer to be called). It’s no coincidence that they on-call room is right next to the ED. That, of course, is a story for sunday.
Other than working out our rota for on-call days and the rest, the first day went pretty quietly. I look forward to what tomorrow brings!
Meanwhile, I am so close to finishing Jane Eyre. Then, The Brief Wondrous Lofe of Oscar Wao. I had forgotten how nice it is to have plenty of time for pleasure reading. Summer for the win!
That said, it was a remarkably good first day. I’m glad that they have done away with the “old style” CPE programs that, as Joe (our supervisor) put it, pushed you over the edge and then tried to catch you. I get the idea that there was little in the way of support, and a lot in the way of tough situations with patients, families, etc. White males beating up on white males as Joe continued. Now, in the sensitive and much more excellent 21st century, we have a more supportive and encouraging atmosphere in which to deal with probably more of the previously mentioned patients and families.
We spent the day mostly just getting to know one another, the hospital, and the program. The group of seven CPEers includes mostly Christians (one Jew), including one other Episcopalian. The others come from a variety of backgrounds, and it will be fun to see what all each of us brings to the table. I don’t really want to say much more about them, though, since they’re not here to defend themselves!
My initial nerves about the whole business seem largely to have quieted now that I’m actually in it. I’m not even really that nervous about my first overnight this coming Saturday. Generally, the program goes from 8:30am to 4:30pm, but 10 nights out of the summer we have to stay over, from 4:45pm to 7:45am. There’s an on-call room that we can use to try to catch some of the ever-ephemeral and coquettish Z’s that taunt us with their promises of rest, but, by all accounts, flee (and justly so) when the Duty Pager goes off. During the on-call overnights, the duty chaplain is the sole pastoral presence for the whole hostpital, especially for the ER (or ED [emergency department] as they prefer to be called). It’s no coincidence that they on-call room is right next to the ED. That, of course, is a story for sunday.
Other than working out our rota for on-call days and the rest, the first day went pretty quietly. I look forward to what tomorrow brings!
Meanwhile, I am so close to finishing Jane Eyre. Then, The Brief Wondrous Lofe of Oscar Wao. I had forgotten how nice it is to have plenty of time for pleasure reading. Summer for the win!
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