Limitations

Last week officially kicked off one of my craziest times of year (the other one being the month of June). Between now and May I will be swamped at work trying to go from 308 applicants wanting a spot in our fellowship program starting in 2009, to four actual new fellows. There are a lot of meetings, emails, planning, and interviews in the between. Ironically, next week will mark my one year anniversary in this job. Yes, it was trial by fire. But luckily I made lots and lots of notes as I went through the process last year so that hopefully things will go smoother this year. Hopefully. So far so good, but we'll see.

Meanwhile, my patience is being tested mightily this week. This is the final week of the monthly rotation for the residents on our service. A new crop comes in starting Saturday, with orientation early Monday morning. The ones leaving the service are required to take an exam at the end of their rotation. It was scheduled for early Tuesday. I was here early to give the exam, nobody showed up. Last week one of the residents had requested to reschedule his exam for today. No problem. I came in early this morning. He didn't show. I have one other who asked to reschedule for tomorrow...

My problem is how to respond to the lack of participation this week. My initial reaction tends to be high irritation followed by sarcasm and bitchiness. Not really appropriate. I'm still trying to decide on the best approach to use while maintaing respect for the fact that they are doctors, but also making sure they understand that my time is also valuable, especially this time of year, and wasting it while making me come in early three times in one week TICKS ME OFF. The good news is that I've learned my limitations and have purposefully not responded to the problem yet in order to cool down and not say something stupid. It's been a struggle, though.