10 signs you are sleep deprived on your Sub-I

1. You spend a substantial portion of your day dreaming about how nice it will be to ease into some warm sheets at day's end and scheming how to get the maximum number of hours (start undressing in the elevator, eat dinner with right hand, brush teeth with left...).
2. You have thought about looking online for the possibility of injectable caffeine shots.
3. You have mastered the art of the 30 second power nap - standing up.
4. You have mastered the art of the 30 second power nap, standing up - with your eyes half open.
5. When walking into conference, you dawdle at the door, so there won't be any seats left - because if you sit, you will fall asleep.
6. You have pinched yourself to stay awake.
7. You know all the good places in the hospital to take a quick 15 minute nap (that couch on the dark end of the visitor's lounge, that abandoned stretcher on floor nine...).
8. You've been timing your coffees in order to keep blood levels of caffeine constant, with a gradual decline towards sleeping hours.
9. You've thought to yourself "If I don't sleep for 15 minutes NOW or at least have some caffeine, I will truly die. I will just konk out right here on the floor."
10. You would rather be hungry from 4am to 2pm so you can have that extra half hour of sleep.

Week One (or how I resolved what I want to spend the rest of my life doing)

I made it through the first week of my sub-I and my first 30 hour overnight call. So far, I am having an incredible experience - each day gets better than the day before. I can now declare that from not being able to sleep that night before my first day, waking up early and being dressed and ready to go 40 minutes before time, to loving every minute of being in the operating room, scrubbed in on the most amazing cases, to sleeping only 3 hours on Friday night, yet staying awake all through Saturday and into Sunday morning constantly on my feet, I am 100% sure that Neurosurgery is the perfect fit for me. Each moment of the day is an occasion to learn something new about Neurosurgery and surgical management, from the pathology behind various illnesses to communication, efficiency and multitasking skills necessary to be a great physician.
Even more fabulous is how wonderful the residents are, from the chief (who is letting me do more and more in the OR as I prove myself) to the interns (who are always ready to answer my questions, no matter how silly, no matter how small, offering advice on the application process).
I have been loving each task given to me, even though the residents will preface them with an apology for giving me "scut". I don't know if they believe me when I say I don't think it IS scut and that even if it were, I would be happy to do it.
All in all, I am having the best time of my medical school experience. Ever. Now on to my second week...

Tomorrow

I start my first Neurosurgery sub-I tomorrow morning at 5:30am. I feel horribly unprepared and horribly excited. Wish me luck!