Day in the life of a Resident Henry Siccardi, MD/MPH MCAT & USMLE Instructor
Hi, my name is Henry Siccardi, MD/MPH MCAT & USMLE Instructor. Here's a sneak peek at a day in my life.
At 05:00 I wake up, make a cup of coffee and some breakfast (usually oatmeal). I make my to-do list for the day (excluding work), and triage/answer emails. When I'm at my best I'll squeeze in 10 minutes of pushups, squats, and crunches though lately that's proved a formidable challenge. At 06:15 I put on my scrubs, pack my food-prepped lunch (always a healthy option with some fruit for snacking), and am out the door at 06:30, sharp. I arrive at the hospital by 06:45, print my list, and text me interns to tell me if any patients are actively sick. If so, I scan the charts to ensure everyone else is, indeed, stable, then scurry off to the sick patient. If not, I put on my headphones and chart my patients and see those I need to see (which is usually pretty much all of them). Rounds start at 09:30, I go to case management rounds at 10:30 and return to my team and finish rounding at 11:45. We do some didactics for our interns and medical students after "running the list" of tasks and I ensure they're all assigned. After teaching, I set my team loose to accomplish tasks and write notes. I then sit on "step-down," where my sickest patients are, all day. I float from room-to-room, patient-to-patient, and family-to-family supervising my interns, addressing nursing concerns, and speaking again with patients and families. I run the list with my team again at 14:00. I only take the stairs at work, I do not take the elevator because it is faster and because it helps me stay in good health. At 16:00, long call starts. On long call days I continue carrying my 16 patients, but then am also responsible for new admissions and rapid responses. (Side note: I always sing the phrase "long call" to the tune of Billy Joel's "The Longest Time." It goes a little something like "OooooooOOoooooo, for the longest call, OoooooOOOOOO......"). That lasts until 19:00 at which time I sign out my team to my night team, fraternize for a little bit, discuss the cases they signed out to us and how they went, and then I make my way out.
The drive home is a great time to call my mom or girlfriend and I get home by 19:30 at which time I eat a food-prepped dinner (again a healthy option with fruit). I shower and wash that hospital off of me, yuck. I then put on a radio app that lets me listen to NYC radio stations and listen to the game of whichever of my teams is playing that night (Yankees, Rangers, Knicks, or the Giants). While I listen to the game I will do a little laundry, clean the kitchen or my bedroom or bathroom. I might sit down with a book or journal for a bit. Pretty much whatever was on that to-do list from the morning. On nights where I teach Kaplan classes I will set up my treadmill and place my laptop on it and walk while I do my off-camera work. That's right, whenever you're in a class with me I'm in the background tossing out nuggets of knowledge AND getting my steps in. It keeps me focused and engaged - good for mind and body. Ideally, I am in bed by 21:00 and I typically asleep wit.....oh, sorry, fell asleep there. Where was I? Oh, right. I say a quick goodnight prayer thanking God for all the mercy and grace I've received, none of which I deserve, and I hope for the gift of tomorrow, which once again comes in the form of an alarm clock!