Being On Call

Being on call sucks, pure and simple. I guess its a necessary evil because someone has to take care of patients but after 4 years of medical school, seven years of general surgery training, 1 year of vascular fellowship, and approaching 15 years of practice, I am frankly tired of taking call. It used to be so exciting and fun to get up early and round in the hospital and see patients on the weekend, but now its tiring. You cant enjoy all the things that your non-medical friends do. Case in point, the past New Years weekend, I was on call. All my friends were celebrating (read drinking alcohol) and having fun, and I had to sit there and watch them. I really should not complain, I have been blessed with a wonderful practice of vascular surgery and it has been a great experience helping people. I genuinely care very much for people, and my older patients I hold dear to my heart. But after all this time, I am tired. Maybe I just lost my mojo and need to rejuvenate.