Week 2 begins

My second week of internship began today. I am really enjoying Pulmonary Consults so far -- quite a fun and relaxing way to begin the year. Today I just had one patient, and the rest of the day I spent researching pleural effusions and practicing reading / interpreting pulmonary function tests. I've heard it described before that Ward and ICU months are analogous to "systole", or the contraction phase of the heart cycle, while electives are "diastole", or the relaxation phase. My heart beats a little slower and I'm a lot calmer when I'm on "diastole". Great way to begin the year. With all this extra time and minimal stress I'm making sure to fit exercise and extra studying into each day. Looking forward to the rest of this week . . .