For years I believed the fix for being tired all the time was simply fewer hours — and I was aiming at the wrong thing.
I hear it almost every week, and it usually comes out sideways. They start by telling me they are done with medicine, that they cannot do this any more, that they have nothing left. Then we slow down and look at what is actually draining them, and it is rarely the patient in front of…
You booked the holiday. You paid the deposit. Your bag is half-packed in the corner of the bedroom. And four days before you are due to leave, your manager pulls you aside and says, “I am so sorry, but with the staffing situation we are going to have to ask you to cancel.”
If you have ever finished a twelve-hour shift, sat in your car for ten minutes before driving home because you could not face moving yet, and then opened your phone to find another patient question waiting for you — this post is for you.