Burning the midnight oil

Abby had been working some seriously crazy hours. Those hours left her very little time for studying and she was getting paranoid about the boards that were looming in the background. Half the time she didn't know if she was coming or if she was going. One shift she might have been a nurse and then 12 hours later shifting gears to be a medical student. The long hours were starting to wear on her and she was getting crabbier with each passing shift.

"Abby," Susan called as she came around the corner with a chart in her hand, "can you start a line on the patient in four, for me?"

"Sorry not for another four hours." Abby replied looking up from the chart that she had in her hands.

"Sorry med student right now?" Susan asked looking at Abby; the dark circles were getting darker under her friends eyes. And Susan could see how the rugged schedule was starting to take its toll on Abby.

"Yeah, med student for another four hours and then," Abby rolled her eyes, "I will be everyone's favorite nurse once again."

"You don't seem too happy about that." Susan said. "But then you look like you could use a nap. Burning the candles at both ends just isn't good for you."

"Working at County just is not good for anyone. A nap, that would be nice but it's not going to happen any time soon." Abby said putting the chart back into the rack. "Too much to do and too little time."

"When we the last time that you actually did sleep?" Susan asked she was a little worried with the number of hours that Abby was spending at the hospital; she knew that Abby had to be reaching the point of exhaustion.

"Uh, I think it was yesterday, I got in about a three hour nap. I'm a med student since when did med students get the luxury of sleep. I'll get some when I am done working my shifts; it's really not that big of a deal." Abby said picking up another chart.

"Three hours in the last 24 hours, you should know that's not good for you." Susan replied. "Just because you are a medical student doesn't mean that you should be going with out that much sleep. Everyone needs to sleep."

"Yeah, well not being able to pay the bills isn't good for me either. I need the hours there mom," She replied back trying to hide any shortness that she might have been feeling from her voice. "I'm fine. You don't need to worry I am not working more than 36 hours at any given time."

"You should go grab a nap, we are slow right now." Susan said reaching to take the chart from her. "Go on take advantage of the down time; it doesn't come along very often."

Abby snapped it back, "no I can do this. I can carry my own weight; I don't need any special favors."

"I'm not doing you any kind of special favor," Susan said reaching again for the chart, "as the attending on right now I am telling you that you need to go and take a short nap, or you are not going to be any good for anyone. I can't have my med students collapsing from being exhausted; you're too good of a student and too good of a nurse to have that happen."

Abby tried not to growl as she handed over the chart to Susan, throwing her hands up in the air, "fine, but I really don't need it and I am only doing it because I know that you won't let up until I do."

Susan turned to head off to take care of what patients were in the ER right now, "what can I say you know me too well, however, you might not think that you do, but you'll thank me for this later."

Abby reluctantly headed off to find a quiet exam room, closing the door and turning off the light as she laid down to take a short nap. She laid her pager next to her head knowing full well that if they needed her that they would come and get her.

The ER following morning….

"I got it." Abby said taking the chart as Pratt rattled off orders to Abby. She was swamped changing gears in her last few hours of being a nurse. She glanced at her watch an in an hour she'd be back to being a med student again. She would then be off tonight at seven so that she could catch up on her reading and some sleep.

"Abby can you start a line for me in three?" Carter asked as he walked by her.

"Yeah in a minute, what am I the only nurse on the floor?" Abby rolled her eyes as her work load started to overwhelm her somewhat. It seemed as if every doctor in the ER wanted her to do something even if she already had a full patient load, for some reason Abby was in demand today.

"Nope, you are just the best nurse on the floor and it's a four year old that I was hoping you could start it on." Carter said looking at her over her chart.

"Ah well I'm glad that you seem to think that," Abby said rather sarcastically. "I will get to it when I can okay." She was shorter with him that she meant to be but things were not going well. "I have my hands full right now and you will have to take your place in the ever growing line."

Carter looked at her for a minute, "come on let's go get something to eat? When we the last time you ate anything."

"Oh no, not you too." Abby said taking a few steps back, "I can't go get anything to eat right now. I have to take care of Pratt's patient and you want a line started on your patient, and then I have four more that I am taking care off to. I can't just drop everything and go and eat right now. I have way to much that I need to do right now, so eating with you is not going to happen."

"Not me too, what's that suppose to mean?" He looked at her with concern on his face, he couldn't help it, and he knew that she was working herself to death right now with the hours that she was trying to carry.

"Susan is worried about me and she thought that I needed to take a nap, and now here you are thinking that I need to go and eat." Abby said, "I don't need you both trying to take care of me, really I have everything under control. I am going to finish this shift and then I am going to go home and take a three hour bubble bath and eat."

"I'm won't lie and say that I'm not worried about you." Carter said, "I just thought that maybe we could get something to eat. You know everyone needs to eat not just you. We don't have to do it right now we can do it in a hour or when you have some time."

Abby looked at him for a minute unsure of what to say to that one. It took her a minute to figure out what to say. "Yeah maybe later, I just don't have time right now okay."

"Yeah that's fine." Carter said backing off, "maybe I can get you some take out or something when we get home."

Abby was already heading down the hall to get some more of her ever growing patient pile up. "That's fine Carter."

Abby threw herself back into her work, hoping that the time would fly by so that she could get home and relax before starting this all over again tomorrow. Some days it seemed never ending, that the hours she needed would never be enough and she was worried with tuition coming due about making ends continue to meet. She would need to pick up a few more nursing shifts than what she already had if she was going to make everything work.