Guest Post: Jane

Lucky to have had many mentors and stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before me. Mom, Dad, and others too in many ways.

But I want to tell you about my third year medicine intern. I entered that rotation totally confident and blissfully unaware of the challenges of combining motherhood and medicine.

Jane (not her real name) was married and mother of a young toddler. Her husband also worked for pay and they had a nanny watching the kid. This was in 1992. Jane knew I was newly married and told me how they work their family system. Jane had a code worked out with the nanny to use with her beeper.

Remember beepers with the one row of numbers that would appear after the caller typed them into their phone? No words, no keypads, no cell phones. Jane had gotten her nanny a beeper as well. If Jane was going to be home at the usual time, she did not call in. If Jane was going to be home in one hour, she typed in '1'. If nanny wanted to Jane to call home to talk, she typed in another code.

And, of course, if there were an emergency, either one would type in '911.'

This let Jane get messages of all sorts from the nanny and stay connected in real time while rushing throughout the hospital doing intern things.

While I had no clue about the variety of issues on the horizon for myself, I always appreciated the earnest and urgent need Jane had to impart her wisdom and experience and sisterhood.

I have not kept in touch with Jane, but hope we do reconnect some day.

Jane, if you are out there reading THANK YOU!



post by Tigermom