Thank The Maker. I am officially off-call.

[Aristus]

It's so nice. I managed to get through the week without any 3am calls. I'm good for the next six weeks or so...

I plan to get a Saturday night drinking thread started this evening...

[rurallib]

1. relax and enjoy

prepare to celebrate Trump's birthday Monday.

{put that down, I was joking}

[Aristus]

2. Well, it is on Monday.

So I can't celebrate Shit Face by getting shitfaced...

[cilla4progress]

3. Missed ya last night - was wondering where you were!

Might just be 9.5% beer for me tonight, but I'll be here!

No Li Wrecking Ball Imperial Stout out of Spokane. YUM!

https://www.nolibrewhouse.com/beer/#wrecking-ball

Glad you are getting a break, Aristus!

[Aristus]

5. Just? 9.5% is a pretty high ABV for a beer!

Did you have to slice it with a knife?

[cilla4progress]

7. Too bad all the yummy beers

are so high alcohol!



Or not!

See ya tonight!

[Aristus]

8. That's why I never understood lite beer.

No flavor. No kick. What's the point?

[cilla4progress]

9. With you there, Aristus!

Dark, rich and heavy works for me! Coffee, dessert, and wine, too! Maybe in small amounts...

Could be a "crone" thing!

[Aristus]

11. Except for very hot, spicy foods, I like most of what I consume to be strong in some way.

I like my alcoholic beverages to be strong enough to drink me if they have a mind to.

I like my coffee (as Voltaire said it) "Black as midnight, hot as Hell, sweet as love, and pure as an angel".

And dessert? Well, the best restaurant in Tacoma once served a dish called Potted Brownie, which was basically a volcano made out of fudge brownie with a molten chocolate magma at the center. It's so decadent, it's basically illegal in 48 states...

[SWBTATTReg]

13. I'm sweating already from your description of this chocolate delight you've described! Wow...

Chocolate makes me sweat if I eat too much of it...

[badhair77]

4. So happy for you. I'm sure it's a great feeling.

Sit back, chill and get ready to raise a glass.

[Aristus]

6. I get a certain amount of money over base-pay in my contract to pull outpatient call.

During my next contract negotiation, I may just say: "Here. You can have the money back. I don't want to pull call any more. Get some bright-eyed young provider right out of school to do it. They could use the experience."

[badhair77]

10. Totally understand. It wears on you after awhile.

I just found out my sugar is high so no alcohol for me. I’ll stop back this evening with some water and lemon. Sometimes it’s the thought that counts.

[XanaDUer2]

12. Good for you! Nt

[3catwoman3]

14. Thank the Maker I retired at the end of March and am permanently off-call.

In my first private practice, which had 2 locations, I did take call, including thru the night. Once, all 3 partners were all out of town for the same weekend, leaving me to cover call from Friday at 5 PM until Monday at 8 AM, with pediatricians from other practices as my back-ups. I was pretty pissed. No cell phones back then, so you couldn't leave the house without a bag of quarters for pay phones if your pager went off. I stayed home most of the time I was on-call.

In my second practice, the NPs did not take call at all - fine by me.

My first 3 years with my now-former practice, I did not take call. They hadn't asked me to when I was hired, and I sure as hell didn't volunteer. When they did decide they wanted me to take this on, the additional compensation they offered was ridiculously low, and came out to about 4 dollars an hour. At the time, there were 6 physicians in the practice, with 3 office locations. For the last several years, we had 9 physicians, so it wasn't like any of them were on call all that often - 3 times a month.

I pointed out that baby sitters were paid considerably more than $4/hour to watch one or two children, and that $4/hour didn't seem appropriate for someone with my level of education and experience to cover calls from potentially hundreds of patients/parents in a practice as large as ours. They came up with a weekday evening from 5-10 PM pattern 3 times a month, and a Sunday morning from 8-12 once a month, each worth $60. Still pretty low, but seeing as it eliminated the all night part of things, I agreed to it. This began back in 1997 or so, and the rate was never upped.

In all NP salary/ working condition surveys I have ever read, a out 70-75% of NPs do not take call, and those that do are compensated for it.

I know doctors routinely claim that they are not paid to take call, that it is "just part of the job," but I am quite certain that this after-hours responsibility is taken into account when the salaries are determined.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, Aristus. I would so love to meet you sometime. I'll bet we could exchange stories for days.

[Aristus]

15. The rest of the weekend starts now.

Heading out to my brother's birthday celebration. Going to have some fine Mediterranean cuisine, too. First time in a restaurant since February of last year.

I always enjoy reading your stories. They make my gripes about clinical medicine seem a little small by comparison. My Dad was an RN, so I've always respected the monumental tasks they have to face.

[3catwoman3]

16. My mom was a nurse, as was her mother, so third generation here.

My grandmother started nursing school when she was only 16. I have her diploma, from 1918, and it is in almost perfect condition. I treasure it.

Bedside nursing is hard work, emotionally and physically. For how many years were women told they could not do certain jobs because they lacked the physical strength to wear a tool belt or wrestle a fire hose? No one ever told a 5 foot, 90 pound woman that she couldn't go into nursing because she might have to log roll a 250 pound stroke patient by herself.

I enjoy your stories, too. As I said, I'm sure you and I could talk for days.