Good Deeds Come Back 10 Fold 

Welcome back to my Blog everybody. It is Saturday night, on Memorial day weekend. There will be parades tomorrow, on Sunday. Many of the firemen will parade around town on their fire trucks, blowing off their sirens. There's going to be barbecues and backyard parties. Memorial day is also the unofficial beginning of Summer. Lucky for me I have this weekend off. It is nice to have some time off. I can take time off call because I have a cross coverage arrangement with Dr. Fred Rezvani. When he takes time off, I cover him, and when I take time off, he covers me. On average, that works out to about two weekends a month off duty, and the same for him. This means that I am on duty for almost two weeks straight. These work hours, which are common in the medical practice of Obstetrics, are a continuing source of controversy  in Obstetrics and Gynecology around the world.

My covering doctor, Fred Rezvani,  is a good doctor. And he is a good friend to me. Our practices are similar. We are both solo Ob/Gyns. Both Fred and I were once Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at our hospital, The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey.

Before Fred and I worked out this present coverage arrangement, we were both on call all the time, 24/7. I like this practice style because I really wanted to "be there" for my patients. I felt that if my patients trusted me with something as important as their health and their lives, then the least I could do was to honor them  by being there when they needed me. Fred and I worked all the time, 24/7. This 24/7 practice made taking time off for vacations difficult. On duty means getting calls and taking care of patients. On duty usually means that we can still get at least some sleep, but most nights there will be at least a phone call from a nurse or a patient.

Eventually, though, reality forced us to realize that nobody can work 24/7 forever. It is just too hard. And it is unhealthy to work so many hours. Sleep deprivation is unhealthy.

So now, Fred and I have this weekend coverage arrangement. And it is really great.

Back when I was picking a career, I knew the work hours were long. All the Ob's knew this in med school. Nevertheless, many people still pick this career and this specialty. For the people who have the stamina to make it through the stress, it really is a fantastic job.

I make my living by battling the forces of nature that cause mayhem in women. I fight against pain, misery, discomfort, dysfunction, disease, depression, infertility, and all of those awful things. And I try to help create a state of health and happiness. I feel that I am really good at my job, and despite the long hours, I really like my job.

A mentor once told me that a good deed comes back 10 fold. So, I try to do good deeds, by doing a good job. And I do feel that these good deeds reflect back on me.

So the long hours are worth it, no doubt about it.

Sure, sometimes it is hard to get out of bed, if I am sleep deprived. But once I am up and moving, I can be totally awake and on the job when I need to be.

I haven't decided on my next post yet. Maybe, how to prepare a woman for a pregnancy?

Disclaimer: none of this is medical advise. This is just general information. Please see your doctor for medical advise. 

Thanks for reading. Please share it around.

Sincerely,

John W Marcus MD FACOG
Ridgewood, NJ, 07450
201-447-0077

Post edited on 5/28 at 1 am. I tightened up some poor pronoun references.