Positive Reinforcement is Better Than Caffeine
Today was long. I went in at 7 a.m. and just got home at 10:30 p.m. Not much energy left to write a lot. But I had a great day today. I spent the beginning of my day on my in-patient psych unit. I worked my little tooshy off to get all of my tasks completed before going on call. Hypomania is a very good thing, sometimes. And my work did not go unnoticed by my attending. He thanked me at the end of the day and said “great work.” Those two little words motivated me to work my little tooshy off again for the next 5 hours in the CPEP (psych ER). And my supervising resident also noticed my work. He told me that I did a wonderful job of interviewing a patient, who just so happened to be a very defiant teenager who at first didn’t want to give me the time of day, but eventually opened up to me after I made him feel comfortable. Let this be a reminder to everyone who supervises others. A few kind words can go a very, very long way. For me, it went a good 15 hours. Now, it’s dinner time and then dreamland.
Photo: My most famous bar trick. Yes, I can balance a salt shaker on a single cube of salt. (Thanks, Howster!)