On Call

Sara is on call this weekend until Monday morning. We as a family stay near the hospital and Sara carries her pager wherever she goes and sleeps much lighter. Call seems to be one of the most controversial (let's count the call schedule for the month including holidays), tiresome (I'll be working the next day too), and challenging (where is the needed surgical staff and residents at night) parts of being a physician.

I make jokes as a dentist that I take call 24/7 in case of an avulsed tooth, dislocated jaw, dental cellulitis. It can be demanding, but I bear this burden and they have yet to give me a pager at Kijabe....but I don't get as much as a smile from my physician colleagues.

Sara's call can vary from just a few phone calls regarding patient management that she can coordinate from home to being up all night in Theatre doing c-sections, treating patients with bleeding, shock, seizure, coding, etc.

One of Sara's least favorite parts of Call is the dark walk past the cemetery, around the open field of trees, around the pediatric tent, into the main gain with sleeping guards (knock, knock, to wake them up), through the noisy gale force winds of the Kijabe night to the Maternity Ward.

Sara's good friend brought back Mace. This is no ordinary Mace. It comes with 10% Pepper Spray (maximum strength) and Finger Grip Dispenser for maximum accuracy. We hope Sara never has to discharge her weapon, but beware this deterrent is Hot Pink!