Wednesday, September 16, 2009

I'm overwhelmed

I currently have 14 things on my to-do list, and not things I can easily mark off, like eat cereal for dinner. There are things like MUE lit review, colon cancer topic discussion, etc. Most of the things on my list are just the beginning of something else. Once I get done with the lit review, I have to collect at least a years worth of data, analyze the data, formulate a plan for how to make things better then present it. Granted, this isn't an overnight project but it will mostly likely be on my to-do list for at least 9 months.
I'm currently on my oncology rotation, which is stressful for a number of reasons
1. I think I want to do a second year in oncology which puts an enormous amount of pressure on me to perform well this month.
2. My handouts for my topic discussion are in excess of 8 pages each and I typically have 2 a week. It takes me at least 6-8 hours to prepare for each discussion
3. I'm checking chemo... I could possibly be the last person that looks at a bag filled with chemo before it gets to the patient. I was nervous the first time I check baby aspirin; checking a chemo for the first time was almost enough to through me into a full blown panic attack and it hasn't gotten better...
4. I have cancer conferences 2-3 days a week, starting at 6:45am..this makes for very long days

On top of this rotation, I still have obligations back at the main hospital. I staff until 7:30 once a week. I have research meetings, P&T, med safety, among others. This means I have to leave the Cancer Center, drive 20minutes, find a parking spot, attend said meeting, leave the main hospital, drive back to the Cancer Center, find a parking spot, catch up on what I missed, what questions were asked then check more chemo....

On top of rotation and regular obligations, I have my dog...who has begun barking in the middle of the day and my neighbors have been complaining...awesome... Now I get to worry about whatever it is my complex does with obnoxious barking dogs. I now get up 20 minutes earlier so I can take ollie on an even longer walk so he might be a little tired during the day. I also leave a box fan on as well as my iPod to drown out some of the sounds ollie might hear and respond to.

Then there's the fact that I'm still 8 hours away from home. I miss Ryan and my family terribly and I try to balance keeping up with them with work I need to get done in the evenings. I'm going home next weekend, which will be lovely BUT I'll still have to leave, which already makes me sad.

So you think you can dance is on...