The medical resident
Nobody goes into medical school thinking it’s going to be a breeze, but after years of intensive study, you earn your medical degree and you can finally move on to doing what you’ve trained for – helping patients suffering from illness and injury. What you’re likely to find during your residency, however, is that you have to put in even longer hours than when you were in medical school.
Medical residents could be on shift for over 24 hours at a time, and putting in 80-hour weeks, leaving them understandably exhausted and in no state to care for anyone, much less hold the lives of patients in their hands. How can you cope with the fatigue, inability to concentrate, and compromised immunity that are common to medical residents working long shifts?
Many residents are able to catch naps here and there when the hospital is quiet, but a busy night could have you on your feet for hours on end, with little respite in sight. While long shifts certainly give you the opportunity to get to know your patients and better serve their ongoing needs, it doesn’t bode well for your ability to remain alert and focused. You’re going to need some help.
This is where intravenous vitamin therapy enters the picture. When electrolytes are depleted, your immune system is flagging, and you’re exhausted beyond belief, regular IV vitamin therapy can give you a much-needed boost. With an Energy Boost that includes essential vitamin and minerals like B-vitamins, vitamin C, trace minerals, calcium, and magnesium, you have the best opportunity to function in top form and stave off illness that could put you out of commission.
When you work in an environment where you’re not only pushed to the brink of collapse due to exhaustion, but you’re exposed to pathogens at every turn, you need to do all you can to protect your health and maintain vitality. Seeking vitamin infusion therapy near me is the place to start.
Staying Energized
Sleep deprivation and fatigue are well-know side effects of medical residency due to duty hour regulations that include extended shift lengths. A common result is burnout within the first year. Interestingly, studies show that it’s not necessarily the number of work hours, but how they are arranged, that can cause extreme fatigue and burnout.
According to a study of first-year medical residents at three different hospitals, published by the Postgraduate Medical Journal in August of 2013, about 51% of participants met criteria for fatigue while roughly 76% met the criteria for burnout. Adjustments were made for age, gender, and residency program, after which it was still found that programs requiring overnight calls were linked to higher rates of fatigue and burnout.
The 80-hour work week itself was not found to be a factor in higher fatigue and burnout – it was the addition of 24-hour, overnight shifts that tipped the scales. Unfortunately, participants in the study who worked these shifts also reported a greater prevalence of errors and a lower quality of patient care as a result of excessive workload.
While there is a movement underway to redesign residency schedules in order to curb fatigue and improve patient care, there are still many medical facilities that impose 24-hour plus shifts for residents, which means you’re going to have to find ways to stay as alert and focused as possible. Bumping up your intake of essential nutrients with regular visits to IV vitamin therapy clinics is a great place to start, and you’ll want to make sure your boosts include plenty of B-vitamins.
B-complex vitamin play a number of crucial roles in maintaining health and wellness, as well as ensuring optimal energy production. Certain B-vitamins help to break down food and convert it into energy, which can reduce feelings of fatigue, irritability, and inability to concentrate.
There are two issues when it comes to getting needed B-vitamins. First, it’s difficult to get the amount you need through food, especially when your sleep schedule and eating habits are all over the place due to the demands of your residency. Second, B-vitamins are water soluble, which means they don’t store in fat for later use, but rather exit the body through waste fluids (sweat, urine, etc.).
This is why supplementing with vitamin B-12 replacement therapy, as well as other IV vitamin therapy, can make such a difference. If you’re plagued by fatigue and you fear making mistakes that could impact the lives of patients, searching for vitamin infusion therapy near me is a must.
Warding Off Illness
When you’re sleep deprived and depleted of nutrients, it’s only natural that you would be more susceptible to illness. This is especially true when you consider that most hospitals don’t provide residents with access to fresh, nutritious foods while on-call. However, your situation is further impacted by working in a medical environment where you’re constantly exposed to pathogens.
The good news is, you can get the immunity boost you need with vitamin C IV therapy. This powerful antioxidant is essential for a number of functions, from forming blood vessels, cartilage, muscle, and more, to fighting free radicals in the body. More importantly for those exposed to pathogens, it plays a vital role in healing and immune function.
Your body doesn’t produce vitamin C, and like B-vitamins, it’s water soluble, which means it can be rapidly depleted. Regular vitamin C infusion benefits include a robust immune system that can ward off the many attacks you’re likely to deal with as a medical resident.
Maintaining Overall Health and Wellness
In addition to B-vitamins and vitamin C, there’s a good chance your long hours and the hectic nature of your work could leave you deficient in essential electrolytes required for proper function and performance. When you take steps to replenish calcium, magnesium, and other needed electrolytes, you can correct imbalances, avoid additional fatigue, weakness, irritability, and worse symptoms, and feel your best throughout a long shift.
With the right vitamin drip therapy, you can maintain energy, immunity, hydration, and overall health and wellness, even when you’re taxing your body and mind during the long hours required of medical residents. This is good news not only for you, but for the patient populations you serve.
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