What Residency Looks Like L: Christmas in the Hospital

Sometimes residency looks like Christmas night shifts at the children's hospital. Nobody wants to spend the holidays in the hospital, least of all parents and their kids, so everybody goes out of their way to make the experience less taxing and more cheerful. For instance, the lobbies, bulletin boards, and nursing stations are all decorated. Many staff are wearing red and green, Christmas scrubs, santa hats, reindeer antlers, or jingle bells. Remember the discarded sweater I found while cleaning my workroom a couple weeks ago? (Here's a refresher.) I've decorated it with "ugly sweater" pins: a wreath, stocking, Christmas tree, and snowman. My socks were a present from my dad. (Hi, Dad!) Finally, the cafeteria cooked a full holiday dinner: turkey and ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, and carrots. (The green beans were boiled well past edibility, so I passed on those.) When I tried to pay for it with meal cards, the cashier waved me off with a family coupon. Now I'm listening to Dear Husband's Pianonoise Christmas Radio program while monitoring my patients and reading a book on the history of spirometry and race. When I get off in a couple of nights, DH will drive us to visit his family to celebrate. Merry Christmas!

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