First day in big school.

Posted by Dr. Thunder


So, I'm a working man.

I've started my new job. Babies everywhere. And I mean EVERYWHERE! It's a huge unit. Much bigger than I'm used to back in the UK

But it's all good. Much better than being bored at home.

It all started slowly enough, with no real action to speak of on my first shift. Day 2 started the same, until Jacob entered this world!!!!

Jacob had reached 28 weeks gestation when he decided he was bored in his mummy's tummy. So, encouraged by the local spell of good weather we've been having, he decided to go on his holidays early.....to the outside world. He was born 2days ago weighing just under 1kg.

We were ready and waiting for this young man when he popped out,though, and the team sprang into action. It all went well. He wasn't too well at first, and needed to be resucitated for about 20 minutes in the delivery room where he was born. This all happened in close proximity to his parents, which is never ideal, but is sadly unavoidable in many cases. Then he was transferred to the special care nursery, where he had a rough ride for an hour or 2 before he was stabilised. He's doing well at the minute. His folks are a bit shellshocked, which is to be expected, but so far so good.

It was good to get the first big resuscitation over and done with early on. Things like that are important when you're trying to establish yourself as an important member of a team.

The team itself are all pretty friendly. There's a very laid back atmosphere in the department, and the consultants are on first name terms with us all.

So, for now, there are no complaints. The hours are infinitely better than back home. When I work overtime I get paid overtime, and I rarely work longer than 8.5 hours continuously.

Of course, some things are the same wherever you work in the world....my swipe card still doesn't work. I still don't have a password for the blood results system, and the coffee is dreadful.

But, overall, the move seems like a good one. Watch this space, though, and see if I still feel the same in a month's time.