Watch Out For Black Cats

I believe there are jobs out there that are pretty... routine. You get up, go in at a particular time, deal with the things that you expect to deal with, meet with people, have breaks, make a few phone calls, order office supplies, and then go home at a particular time. And you kind of have a general idea of what to expect your day or week or month to be like. If you're going to be busy, you know it and can duly prepare.

The same can't really be said about inpatient medicine. Or outpatient, for that matter, but it is really true about inpatient. At the beginning of a day (or night as the case may be - I'm back on night float again) I have NO idea what the day (or night) is going to be like. Because I have no control over when or how kids get sick. Some days we get flooded with kids, other days, it is like someone has pumped a cure-all into the water and it is very quiet. No control.

Which can be hard when you're a control freak.

Not that I am.

(I am.)

(But so are most residents.)


As a result of this lack of control, there is a kind of pseudo-control that exists in resident culture. In laymen's terms, it might be known as "Superstition." I think it becomes our way of feeling that we have some control over what might become of us during our next night. I myself am guilty of believing that I have an 'unlucky' pair of socks. Twice I wore them, and had busy nights. Those socks are now at the back of my sock drawer.

One really universal concept is the "Black Cloud" or "White Cloud." It is the idea that a resident has a certain aura around them that either invites work, or keeps it at bay. So ingrained is this concept in medical culture, that they actually did a research study on it a while back. And it was published! Granted it was in the "Letters" section, and not the actual research article part, but still. It is a big part of our lives.

While I've always been on the fence about colored clouds (mine's kind of a mottled lightish gray), one superstition that I NEVER took stock in was the idea that if you say the name of a patient who is frequently admitted, you're basically inviting that person to come to the hospital.

So last week, when I accidentally called one of the current patients by a name of one of our 'frequent fliers'* and everyone around me got all up in arms, I was like, oh yeah? I don't believe that! Watch! And proceeded to name two more 'frequent fliers.' Just to prove my point.

The next day, the patient who's name I'd accidentally said was admitted. Within the week the other two were.

I think I may be changing my tune here!

And I'm totally going to throw out those socks.



* Frequent Flier is a patient who is frequently admitted, and generally has some bad systemic illnesses or problems - cerebral palsy, bad seizure disorder, etc. I actually hate the term, but as of yet, don't have anything better to call them. And it is faster than saying 'he is a patient that is frequently admitted.'